The Littlest Elemental
by D G Palmer
Summary: A chronicle of Minh, a young woman of Vietnamese heritage taken into custody after combat by Elemental warriors of Clan Wolf.
1. Prologue

The Littlest Elemental: Prologue by D G Palmer/1

Dedicated to Megumi Yokota.

Provost Militia Training Base, Demeter

Across the border from the Free Rasalhague Republic, Draconis Combine

29 September 3050

Rain fell in a cool drizzle upon the assembled Draconis Combine troops. The group stood in ranks before a field of parked armored vehicles. Each trooper wore a uniform with camouflage in green, brown, and black patterns. Despite their identical attire, they were a motley collection. A mixture of men and women, many younger and some older than twenty years. Among them were recuperating soldiers, some showing bandages and other wrappings. Facing them was Tai-i Tsubaki, a captain in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. A convalescent like the other professional soldiers, he steadied himself on a cane with some difficulty in the mud.

Rain water dripped from his helmet, falling onto his uniform. Though water resistant, the uniform permitted the water down his collar and along the stitched seams. He eyed his garrison proudly, with ambivalent feelings of pride and anguish. Two months ago he had been assigned to the company in a temporary capacity. Back then, he was still on crutches, his leg fresh from a cast. He walked with some difficulty now, the cane only necessary to maintain balance. Once he was fully recovered, he would be released from convalescent status and reassigned to a regular line unit.

These people had trained together for the past six months. He had personally evaluated each troop, making assignments according to demonstrated skill. His original idea was to combine the experienced, the skilled and talented, and not so proficient in balanced crews. Had there been more time, he would have done that. The arrangement would have brought all of the troops up to an acceptable standard. Unfortunately, filling all of the vehicles in this manner would have debilitated the combat effectiveness of the entire unit. In addition, there were not enough troopers to supplement the vehicle crews. Instead, he placed his best personnel in the tanks. Though these vehicles were undermanned, the crews could handle it. The remaining troops were assigned to the lesser effective transports and scout cars. Supplementing these personnel were soldiers who had managed to leave the hospital and report to the garrison. They would serve as mounted infantry. Against anything but the weakest opposition forces, these units were cannon fodder.

Provost Militia Training Base was one of a few garrisons on the planet Demeter, a guard post one jump away from Free Rasalhague space. Originally the garrisons were composed of DCMS companies, with complete lances of BattleMechs and aerospace assets. Then came the invasion of the Draconis Combine by powerfully armed forces calling themselves the Clans. Troops were drawn away from the outpost, taking their 'Mechs and aerospace fighters with them. They were replaced in too few numbers by wounded evacuated from invaded planets. From the local population were drawn the militia forces that fleshed out the garrison before him. The token force of BattleMechs that were left behind were stationed at the space port. The only remaining machines left to the garrison here in the agricultural zone were these old tanks, hover transports, and scout cars.

No one really expected an attack this far from the clan front. That changed when the JumpShip Trailblaze arrived in system. Issuing challenge in the name of the Wolf Clan, the defenders of Demeter were asked to provide a register of forces they would be fighting with. There was some initial confusion, since it was the Smoke Jaguar Clan that was battling the Draconis Combine. The Wolf Clan was rumored to be attacking the Free Rasalhague Republic. No mission objective was disclosed. It was guessed that this was a deep probe through the FRR by the Wolf Clan to sample the Draconis Combine. After receiving a reply from the tai-sa, colonel, in command of the DCMS forces on Demeter, the Trailblaze launched DropShips. That was three days ago. It was estimated that they would arrive in three more days time.

Little was known of the Clans, except that they were equipped with superior equipment and knew how to use it. In his only battle with the Clans, Tsubaki's infantry unit had been caught in a crossfire between BattleMechs of Smoke Jaguar and the DCMS. His battalion commander's armored personnel carrier had been hit by autocannon fire and crashed. Under fire, Tsubaki led his platoon to rescue survivors. While transferring the injured from the disabled APC to his own, many of his men had been killed and he had broken his leg from a near miss. The chu-sa, lieutenant colonel, he had been helping ended up carrying him instead. Until his evacuation from the combat zone, he had been chu-i, a lieutenant. He always wondered if his promotion to tai-i was meritorious or for the needs of his new company.

The formation facing him was composed with the vehicle commanders lined in the front row. Most of them were experienced combat veterans. However, a few were talented individuals who rose from the ranks of the militia. In recognition of this, they were promoted to reflect their added responsibility. Tsubaki did not place veterans under the command of the militia, thinking that it would be a disrespectful affront to the wounded, a dishonor. At one end of the formation he noticed one such tank commander.

Gunso Minh Tran, a sergeant in the militia, stood at attention. She was clearly the shortest member of the garrison. When he first saw her two months ago, he did not believe that she would pass muster. He was sure that she weighed less than the combat loads the infantry packed on their backs. Her hand-eye coordination and coolness under stress proved her worth as a turret gunner. He decided to put her in command of a tank, pairing her with a militia driver.

He began his speech, speaking loud enough to be heard in the back ranks. As he exhorted them, he saw their backs stiffen, faces reflecting the pride he felt. It was a speech he remembered well. When his previous regimental commander addressed the troops, his comments were very similar. The tai-sa, his colonel, had touched on various subjects. The excellent training of the unit, the honor to be a part of the action, the duty to defend the combine against the aggressor, his personal pleasure to be leading his men. He recalled the pride that welled up within him from those words. Tsubaki wished the colonel were here now, but that was not to be. He had fallen leading his men against the clan onslaught. His valor prevented an orderly retreat from becoming a rout in the face of overwhelming odds. There would be no retreat here.

The training of these troops was far from complete. Two months was not enough for civilian volunteers to grasp the fine points of tactics, even if they were as motivated as these militia were. However, it would do no good to tell them that now. Instead, he repeated the gist of his tai-sa's speech. He concluded by telling them to do their duty, not only for the Combine, but for each other.

"Front rank, hand salute!" snapped Sho-ko Williams, the sergeant major of the garrison. The vehicle commanders tried to raise their arms at the same time, but there was a ripple effect. Tsubaki noticed that Gunso Tran's salute was very sharp. It was easy to forget that she was not regular DCMS. Seeing her stand stiffly, her hand at the rim of her helmet, he remembered that she had shown great promise. Within days, she would most likely be dead, her body broken within her wrecked tank. Solemnly, he returned the salute.

"Two!" The front rank lowered their salute with Williams' command. "Dismissed! All units, mount up! Prepare to move out!"

The soldiers fell out of ranks and quickly headed for their vehicles, slogging mud beneath their boots. As Tsubaki limped to the scout car he would be using in the upcoming battle, he looked up at the overcast sky. Even though the wet weather would make progress on the ground miserable and difficult, the low clouds would prevent enemy aerospace fighters from attacking. Two or four fighters could destroy his garrison with little risk of accurate counter fire.

The garrison had been informed of the mission last evening. They would go into the hills to defend themselves, drawing the attackers away from the local population center. _What a joke_, he thought. It was really a wild goose chase. The clan invaders would be coming for one reason only. This was where the action is. Because the vehicles would be easy prey for BattleMechs here in the open, even the heavy armored tanks, he planned to fight in the hills. The uneven ground would provide some cover for them. Hopefully, they would down several of the giant mechanical monsters before being destroyed themselves.

Tsubaki didn't like the idea of leading troops to their deaths. It was worse knowing they were willing to fight for no real purpose. They had to know this was only a battle of attrition, that they were only cannon fodder to bleed the clan enemy. He wished they would not have to fight at all, but duty and honor would not permit them to abandon their weapons and escape.

As for Tsubaki, he would be in a scout car, trying to coordinate the defense. Maintaining a real command post, without the resources to actually defend it, would be foolish and suicidal. The mobility of the scout car would keep his command alive for a little bit longer, but he was under no illusions. The enemy would find him quickly.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh Tran, newly promoted to the rank of gunso, arrived at her steed. The 80-ton Demolisher was armed with a gauss rifle and plated over with armor. Brenner arrived a moment before Minh. The Go-cho, corporal, had been promoted upon his assignment as driver. Standing more than a head taller than Minh, he seemed more lanky than he was.

"I hate being wet!" Brenner declared as he boarded the Demolisher. Minh understood what prompted his outburst when she reached up to climb onto her tank. Her sleeves were rolled up above her elbows, just like every other soldier. The cold water ran down from her forearms and into her shirt. A visitor new to Demeter might assume that the rest of the planet was as rainy as Provost. In reality, the rainy season of Provost lasted only one-third of Demeter's year. In the farm belt near the equator of the planet, the weather was much more balanced. That was where the Tran family lived.

As she pulled herself up, she kicked her boots against the tank to get rid of the clinging mud. She did not want to slip back off the tank or track in any more of the mud than she had to.

The rain increased its precipitation. Water coursed along the welds in the armor. Minh carefully clambered up to the turret and opened the commander's hatch. She slipped into the turret and closed the hatch over her. Brenner was already in the driver position, cursing bitterly.

"Lousy backstabbing thieves!"

Minh knew the source of this new complaint. When the regular garrison soldiers left to fight the clan invaders, they took their equipment with them. They would be issued fighting vehicles when they got to the front, but apparently felt they needed the helmets more than a garrison trooper in the rear echelon. Unlike the helmets they now wore, tanker helmets were close-fitting with integral head phones and throat microphones. The field helmets they had been issued had a broad rim which made it more likely to hit one's head on the interior of the tank. She removed the helmet and shook her head to circulate the air through her neat and straight black hair. She then placed headphones over her head, slipping the earphones through her hair to position them over her ears. Like many of the female troops, she kept her hair short, at chin level.

With her almond-shaped eyes, straw-colored skin, and slight build, no one could help but notice her Asian heritage. Hundreds of years before, her ancesters journeyed to Demeter from Vietnam on the Terran home world. The immigrants had wanted to return to a healthier life-style far away from heavy industry. They found it here on this world.

After adjusting the straps, Minh returned the helmet to her head. The helmet was uncomfortable with the headphones in place, but at least it fit. She positioned the boom microphone in front of her chin. Nobody liked the boom mikes. Unlike the throat mikes, these transmitted the surrounding noise, like gunfire and the engines. During vehicle operation, the crews had to yell to be heard. Reaching to the communication panel, she switched on the radio. She made sure it was preset to the frequency assigned to the tank lance. Brenner, having strapped himself into his seat, started the Demolisher's power plant, a robust diesel engine. It shook roughly to life, then steadied into a smooth rumble.

It was time for her to take her position in the turret hatch. Taking a folded piece of canvas from tank commander's status console, Minh unfolded it and draped it over her shoulders. She quickly fastened it closed in front, creating an impromtu rain poncho. She rose up and opened the hatch, water dripping into her upraised face. Standing on the footrest, she unfolded the saddle and seated herself. She raised the bottom of the canvas out of the hatch and draped it around the rim, effectively funneling the falling rain away from the interior of the tank.

"How are we?" she asked Brenner over the intercom circuit.

"Give the diesel a few more minutes to warm up, then we are good to go," he replied. The engine noise competed with his voice over the circuit.

"Go-Lead to Lance, comm check."

"Go-Two, five by five."

There was no response from Go-three. Minh looked over at the Demolisher next to her tank. The commander's hatch was just opening.

"Go-Lead to Three, comm check," the lance leader radioed, impatience in his voice.

"Three!" Minh shouted at the sergeant as he settled on his saddle. "Turn on your radio!" The trooper waved at her through his poncho in response.

"Go-Three to Lead, comm check," the voice sounded uncertain and embarrassed.

"Go-Lead, I read you five by five."

"Go-Four, five by five," Minh radioed.

"Very good, Go Lance. Confirm power, hydraulics, and weapon status."

Minh switched to intercom.

"Brenner, turn the turret on," she ordered. She mentally cursed herself. She did not expect to activate the weapon system or she would have already done so.

"I got you covered, Tran," Brenner unstrapped himself and worked his way to the gunner's station. "Okay, you got it."

Minh could feel the vibration of the electro-hydraulic motors as they hummed to life. Using the tank commander's override, she trained the turret from side to side, then elevated the gauss rifle up and down. The motors whined with the movement. She had to move the canvas out of her way so she could peek down at the status console.

"Go-Lead, standing by for readiness report."

"Go-Two, operational and fully armed."

"Go-Three, operational and fully armed."

"Go-Four, wait one," Minh switched to intercom. "Brenner, take us forward a couple lengths. By the book. Test steering and brakes."

The tank advanced for several meters, stopped, then turned in place by driving the treads in opposite directions. The tank spun to the left, then to the right, throwing mud in both directions.

"Go-Four, operational and fully armed."

"Stop showing off, Four. You throw a track, you put it back on yourself," Go-Lead admonished. "Go Lance, stand by to move out."

Minh shivered underneath the poncho. She reached blindly for the switch for the electric space heater at her feet. Switching it on, she trusted the heat to rise and fill the poncho.

Captain Tsubaki saw the Demolisher move out prematurely. He switched his radio console to Go Lance's frequency. He heard the fourth tanks readiness report. According to instructions, all of the vehicles should have performed their readiness checks. Few of these troops did so. The others who did were the recuperating veterans. This attention to detail justified his promotion of Minh Tran to Gunso.

He waited for every lance to report to him. The cacophony of diesel engines and hovercraft turbines in close proximity to each other was deafening.

He was relieved that to see all of the vehicles proceed onto the road. If any of them had failed, he would have taken them along anyway and positioned them as fixed artillery. He could not afford to leave behind a single unit.

His force consisted of two scout cars, seven hover transports, and eight tanks. On paper, it looked like a reinforced company. In reality, it was really a haphazard mix of vehicles. The scout cars were different in design from each other. His car was large enough to assume the command and control he needed to operate the company. The smaller car would serve as a decoy to split fire from his own car. The hover vehicles were a mix of unarmored delivery transports and armored personnel carriers. These would deploy troops armed with personal anti-'Mech weapons. The tanks were two complete lances, four Demolishers and four SRM carriers. The rounded gauss-carrying Demolishers and the boxy tanks armed with short-range missiles were his slowest combatants.

The small scout car, two transports, and one APC raced ahead of the main body of vehicles. He wanted to make sure nothing surprised his force, even if the invaders were not due for three days.

xxXxxxXxx

The wind blew the rain into Minh's face. In addition to having the wrong helmets, they also lacked goggles. There were only enough to equip half of the infantry embarked in the transports. It was decided that these soldiers needed every edge they could get in this weather. The tankers would be buttoned up inside their armored vehicles out of the rain and wind. Goggles were not necessary to use electronic gun sights. She squinted as the Demolisher crawled along the muddy road.

xxXxxxXxx

The clan DropShips landed two days early. There had literally been no time to prepare defensive positions. The best Tsubaki could do was send the tanks away from the road into the hilly terrain. He hoped the rain and cloud cover would continue to conceal his company from aerial view. Where his tanks hid behind ridges, aerospace units would be able to see them very easily. His hover assets were camouflaged in the lower hills where his infantry had disembarked and set up their ambush. One APC would lure the enemy BattleMechs up the road. When the enemy reached the kill zone, the troops would fire, then abandon their positions and escape in the hover transports. The armored APCs would provide fire support for the withdrawal. The hover transports would race further up the road where the tanks would fire the next ambush. With the enemy occupied with the tanks, the transports would unload the infantry and help finish off the enemy. An overly optomistic plan.

Tsubaki was experienced enough to know that no battle plan survived once contact was made with the enemy.

xxXxxxXxx

As the senior enlisted soldier, Sho-ko Williams led the infantry. He maintained communications silence until the enemy BattleMechs appeared in the gloomy haze. The decoy APC wound up its turbines and lifted up on a cushion of muddy mist. Firing one salvo of long range missiles, it turned and began running up the road. This was the signal for the decoy scout car to begin transmitting orders on the dummy frequencies.

The lead BattleMech pointed one arm at the running hover APC and fired an autocannon. To William's amazement, it had a higher than normal cyclic rate of fire. Even more unbelievable was that every shot was on target. The hovercraft lost control and crashed, pieces of armor plating and control surfaces scattering for over fifty meters. It was too much to hope that there were any survivors.

Williams forced his attention away from the carnage up the road and back to the BattleMechs. There were five of them. They had stopped and he noticed that men seemed to drop from them and land on the ground around them. It was too far to make out any real detail in the rain. The 'Mechs were not familiar designs. Three had back-canted bird's legs and the other two were humanoid. Not one of them was identical.

The grounded troops surprised Williams again by leaping across the ground toward his concealed men, advancing in great bounds. Trying to count them, he estimated that there was at least twenty men.

xxXxxxXxx

Tai-i Tsubaki listened to Sho-ko William's report as both sides opened fire on each other. His display panel was fed information from the various vehicles of his company. It showed his units and the enemy BattleMechs in relation to them. The enemy was attacking with a platoon of jump infantry. Armored infantry. As soon as the report sank in, the battle was over. None of the hover transports was able to recover the troopers, much less defend themselves. The last report proclaimed that they were being overrun. Contact was lost at that point. The jump infantry had not registered on his monitor at all.

With the loss of half of his company, he felt useless. He tried to remember if there had been jump infantry when he had been wounded months before. He had broken his leg during a missile bombardment early on in the battle, so he did not see much of the fighting. Armored jump infantry was unheard of. Until now.

Minutes later, he heard the distant thunder of long range missile explosions. The radio signals from the decoy scout car ceased.

"This isn't a battle, it's a massacre," the driver muttered, steering their scout car around an brush-covered outcropping. Tsubaki silently agreed.

An SRM carrier reported that the BattleMechs were on the move again. The radio was silent for what seemed to be an exceedingly long time. In actuality, only a few minutes passed.

Go-Lead gave the command to open fire. There were reports of gauss rifle fire mixed with the launch of short range missiles. A moment later Go-Lead counseled the SRM gunners to steady their aim. Tsubaki noted that none of the SRM carriers had hit their targets.

"Yon and Go Lances, remember your orders. Target the lead 'Mech first," Tsubaki radioed his instructions.

"Go-Three and Four, fire at the leader," Go-Lead radioed. "Lead and Two will move to position Baker. We'll cover you next."

"Yon-Lead to Yon-Lance," the SRM lance leader radioed. "Fire at the lead-." Radio contact terminated and Tsubaki saw the icon for Yon-Lead disappear from his display. The remaining SRM carriers fired. He noticed that the two Demolishers of Go-Lance had reached their new positions and the remaining two began to move. Go-Four narrowly missed an LRM strike. The tanks scooted below the level of the ridge, out of sight of the advancing BattleMechs. A second SRM carrier blew up.

"Go-Lead is gone!"

Tsubaki saw the icon disappear. It wasn't coincidence that the lance commanders had both been taken out. The enemy had traced the radio commands and eliminated the commanders. He was about to assume tactical command of the remaining tanks when he heard Gunso Tran's voice.

"Go-Four to lance, move to Charlie," her sharp voice was clipped and steady. Tsubaki saw that the other two Demolishers maneuvered in obedience to her command. Those tank commanders were senior to her, but they complied to her steadfast tone. There was no panic. Either they were responding out of deference to her self-assuming leadership or they realized that her tank would be the logical next target.

Before he could complete that thought, a series of explosions advanced toward the scout car. The car was heading straight for them. He snapped an order to the driver to evade the bombardment. The BattleMechs must be firing at them, he thought, but they were out of his line of sight. He knew there must be a forward observer, perhaps a jump infantryman. The driver had already begun to twist the car around before Tsubaki's order, but it was still too late.

xxXxxxXxx

"Brenner, I cannot get a bead on them! Forward more!" Minh yelled over the diesel rumble. She had closed the commander's hatch on the turret and was manning the gunner's station. With her face in the sights, she peered out through the optical system. With the Demolisher's hull down on this ridge, she could only see over the target she needed to shoot. Brenner drove forward. Minh watched as the horizon seemed to rise in her sight picture. At the same time, she saw the 'Mech appear.

"Stop!" she ordered. As the tank braked, she turned the turret and depressed the barrel of the gauss rifle. She didn't know what the BattleMech was. She had studied the recognition manuals and thought that her target looked like a Warhammer. There was a missile launcher over one shoulder and a spot light over the other. However, the legs seemed bulkier and the arms were shaped differently. She depressed the trigger. A large silvery ball was launched to sonic speed by the electro-magnetic gauss weapon. It struck the advancing machine in the leg, completely shattering the armor. It came to a stop, but did not fall down, much to the disappointment of Minh. She could see that she had damaged the myomer 'muscle' of the war machine. The 'Mech aimed one arm back at her, discharging a beam of blinding sapphire. The devastating energy of the PPC gouged the rain drenched soil. The violent conversion of power sent charred mud exploding upward. The tank had barely escaped being severely damaged.

"Let's move!" Minh commanded Brenner. She turned away from the sighting system, she left the seat and went toward the loader's station. She tripped over the cord to her headphones and banged her forearm on the casing for the hydraulic rammer motor. Wincing with pain, she whipped the cord out of her way. She hurt all over from bumps and scrapes from moving around the tank's interior. Creeping through the tight confines of the turret, she reached the loader's station. She connected the cassette loader to the breach of the gauss rifle. The skin on her back seemed to crawl as she waited for the enemy to fire again. How she wished that her weapon system had an automatic loading apparatus. Just how many centuries ago had this thing been built anyway? The tank began to shake as it reversed. The tank turret made a small target as it disappeared behind the ridge. In front of her, the cassette shifted the nickel-ferrous projectile to the loading position.

There was a double hammer of explosions on the turret. Her ears rang with the concussion. The tank rocked backward on it's shock absorbers. She could smell burnt high explosive. She became aware that Brenner was yelling at her.

"What?" she demanded as she activated the rammer. It functioned perfectly.

"What is our damage?" Brenner repeated himself.

Minh looked over at the commander's console. The turret was outlined in red.

"One more hit on the turret will knock us out!" she yelled back. The rammer retracted and she closed the breech block, then disconnected the cassette loader. She turned around and was about to slip into the gunner's station when there was a bright flash from the front of the tank. Overpressure pounded Minh back into the gunner's seat. She lost her lucidity, the time slipping away. When she regained her wits, she noticed that the driver's station was gone. Damp air circulated freely through the hole in the tank's hull. Her body ached, but she was sure no bones were broken. She could feel the shudder of the diesel engine. She picked herself up and crawled past the breech to the commander's station. There was a periscope that extended through the top of the turret. She looked into the monocular eyepiece. Slowly turning around, she viewed the battlefield. She could see only one Demolisher. Dark oily smoke rose from the burning engine compartment. It's turret seemed to be caved in. She couldn't see any other signs of smoke in the overcast sky, but the static on the radio was evidence that the battle was lost. Minh looked at the status console. Apart from the damaged turret armor and missing driver's station, the tank was still operational. She looked around the area again through the periscope. The 'Mech she had hit in the leg was limping toward her tank. _One last shot_, she decided.

Slipping back to the gunner's station, Minh put her face to the gunsight and turned the turret toward the hobbling 'Mech. Lining the sight along the centerline of the BattleMech, she raised the sight picture until it was centered on the biggest part of the machine. The chest. She could not miss a target like that at this range. She placed her finger on the trigger when there was a sudden screech of tortured steel. Light filled the tank's interior and rain blew in. Startled, she looked away from the sight, thinking the tank had been hit again.

With eyes widened in surprise, she saw something totally new to her. A large metal man had pulled the battle damaged armor away from the turret face next to the gauss rifle. The arm gripping the armor had a three-fingered grip. The other arm ended in what appeared to be a laser. The head of the suit was connected to the chest. There was no neck. For a face, this thing had a reflective V-shaped visor. She had never seen anything like it, nor imagined an attack on armor like that. The shock of the moment passed and she dismissed the armored man with a frown. She turned back to her sight, confirmed her sight picture, and pulled the trigger.

Minh did not see the gauss projectile hit. A shadow passed over her head and a hard blow to her helmet hammered her away from the gunsight. She fell back into her seat. Stunned, she lay listlessly as her attacker pulled her from the tank. She was aware of being carried and a long jump through the air. Upon landing, her captor dropped her into the mud.

xxXxxxXxx

Tai-i Tsubaki had survived the destruction of the scout car, but his driver had not. With cane in hand, he limped through the wet brush until he reached a summit where he could see the battle. The sounds of gauss rifles and SRM launchers was gradually replaced with autocannon and laser fire. Throwing himself down onto the ground, he observed the blasted remains of his company. The curious jump infantry was moving around the field while the four remaining BattleMechs approached the lifeless hulks. He could see the fifth BattleMech down the hill with a collapsed leg. One of the bird-legged 'Mechs, he could see it's pilot had survived the battle and was inspecting the damage to his machine. He bitterly regretted that this was all the damage his company had managed to inflict. Every troop under his command had died for virtually no gain.

He felt the dishonor of surviving combat when every last one of his people lay dead. He was ashamed that he had not been killed with his driver. His soldiers had trusted him to be there with them, to share their fate.

Movement caught his eye and he saw a Demolisher turn it's turret toward one of the humanoid 'Mechs, one that had been damaged. He could see the steel bone structure underneath it's destroyed leg armor. At the same time, one of the armored jump infantry leaped onto the tank and seized hold of the damaged turret front. The armor was peeled open like tissue paper.

He could see the gunner look away in startlement from the gunsight. There was no mistaking that dark hair showing under the wide-brimmed helmet. Gunso Tran. After a second, he saw her return to her sight and fire the gauss rifle. The silver ball struck the arm, splintering armor. The autocannon sagged uselessly toward the ground. He watched as the infantryman struck Tran down.

Tsubaki was touched by the selfless act of courage. His eyes watered with emotion. With no regard to her own peril, calmly and deliberately, she had continued to resist the enemy. He stood up and saluted his dead company, holding the salute while the rain washed the tears from his face. Dropping his hand, he realized he was not alone. He turned, finding himself face to face with another armored infantryman. So far away, he never realized how big these guys were. He mentally rebuked himself. This must have been the forward observer who had called in the long range fire on his scout car. It had not occurred to him that he would have been spotted leaving the car. Seeming impassive behind the V-shaped visor, the infantryman stood motionless as he watched him. Tsubaki wore a pistol at his hip, but realized the futility of drawing against the armored giant. Not willing to surrender, he saw an end to his shame. As if he was going to bayonet the giant with his cane, he charged.

It had been a long day for Minh Tran. With mud cohering to the side of her face and body, she had picked herself up from the ground. Surrounded by armored troops, she waited. She could smell burning missile propellant and diesel fuel. Somewhere came the sound of sporadic firing. Most likely it was machinegun ammunition cooking off. Periodically, a missile warhead would detonate. Taking stock of herself, she noticed that she still wore her headphones, the cord broken and hanging down her chest. She removed her helmet and pulled the phones off, then replaced the helmet and dropped the phones at her feet. This was not how she had visualized the end of battle.

A hand gripped her shoulder from behind and forced her around. She found herself face to face with a dark-haired woman. She was tall, her slender figure clad in a MechWarrior's cooling vest and shorts. Her hair was in braids, her face framed in loose wisps of rain-matted hair.

Minh could not help but see the obvious anger as the taller woman took the smaller woman's helmet from her head and tossed it away.

"A girl!" she spit out in disgust. "A little girl! This is what they send against us? Children?" She turned away and trudged back to her badly damaged BattleMech. It's damaged leg would not be able to stand up to the long trek back down from the hills without repair.

Minh looked at the BattleMech she had damaged. She wondered if an experienced gunner would have done a better job. She observed the broken arm of the giant war machine. She hadn't seen the gauss hit, but she was sure she had aimed at the center of the chest. Perhaps the rifle had been knocked out of alignment by the autocannon hit against the turret or when the armor had been peeled away like an orange. The rain was getting in her eyes, now that she had lost the cover of her helmet. She looked back where it lay on the ground, canted like a lopsided bowl.

The armored soldiers had not prevented the MechWarrior from accosting her. Since the angry woman had thrown the helmet away, perhaps it was a sign that Minh was not allowed to have it anymore. She gazed at the soldiers around her. One in particular seemed to be watching her. She looked back, unable to see through the visor. Each soldier had an individual unit marking painted on it's shoulder armor. Mounted behind the shoulders was a missile launcher, a firing port on either side of the head. The right hand ended in a laser muzzle. The left hand had a three-pronged claw. Attached to the forearm of the clawed limb was what appeared to be a machine gun. Except for the MechWarrior, no one said a word to her. She toyed with the thought that perhaps these things were robot soldiers. That seemed more logical to her than a platoon of super-sized men. The android did not move. It just appeared to regard her in return. The four others appeared to be on guard, watching the surrounding area. She was not sure if the android could hear her. The MechWarrior did not address them, not exactly. The androids did not respond to the MechWarrior, neither. Having thought it out, Minh elected not to ask for her helmet back. After several moments, she looked from the android and turned her head to her tank.

The diesel engine of the Demolisher was still rumbling. From where she stood, she could see the void of the driver's station. There was no sign that a living breathing man had been in that spot half an hour before. The turret gaped open next to the glacis of the barrel. A section of track extended from the front of the tank. The end seemed to have been burned through by a laser. She did not remember the BattleMech firing a laser, much less realizing that the tank had been immobilized. She looked back at the android and suspected that the laser it was equipped with had probably dealt the damage.

Minh understood it was over for her now. All she could do was resign herself to being a prisoner. She looked straight ahead, resolved to remain silent. She was uncertain of her status. Was she a prisoner of war? It was dishonorable for Combine soldiers to surrender. That had been what she was taught, but she had not surrendered. She had been captured while defending her home. There had been no compromise of principle.

While she stood there, she could feel the rain run down her back from her collar. It was cooler up in the hills and she was becoming chilled. She shivered. She tried to conceal her discomfort, thinking it a sign of weakness. She resolved not to look back at the android.

Two of the androids began walking away. The android watching her made a motion with it's clawed hand to follow them. Without acknowledgment, she trailed after them. The remaining three spread out behind her.

Encompassed by androids in this manner, Minh knew that she could not escape. She thought seriously of escape for a brief moment. They were headed for the ridge and, presumably, the road down below. If she could run into a ravine and hide in the brush, she might be able to sneak away. However, the slippery mud bogged her down. It was all she could do to maintain her balance on the uneven ground. If she tried to run, the androids would catch her all too easily. Their cloven feet found purchase where she found none. Looking down at the back of their legs, she noticed what looked like jump jet nozzles.

She wasn't walking long when she felt her legs start to burn. Lifting her boots from the mud sapped her strength. She remembered stories from her father about her ancestors on Terra. Working hunched over in rice paddies, they planted rice stalks in mud. It was backbreaking work in a tropical, highly humid environment. If they could toil in the mud under those conditions, she was determined she could endure a forced march in more temperate weather. The effort to move through the mud drove the chill from her wet body.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen observed the point of Elementals escort the tank survivor past her Hellbringer. Her outraged outburst upon facing her former adversary had blunted her wrath. Calmly, she examined the girl's dignified poise. It was obvious it was taking serious effort to raise her feet to make each step. Slim pale arms gleamed with reflecting rivulets. Her short hair was plastered to her scalp, adding to her bedraggled appearance. She recalled the moment when she faced the young woman, her neat hair just beginning to get wet. She recalled the glitter of her dark eyes. There was intelligence in those depths, as well as a startled regard. Not fear, not exactly. Patient acceptance of her circumstance. If she were to choose one word, she would describe her as mature.

The girl marched by without turning her head to the almost crippled OmniMech. She did not seem arrogant as much as detached from her surroundings. As if she had dismissed the MechWarrior as inconsequential. A fire seemed to burn in Salen's belly, a deep-seated anger. Yes, she was calm, but she wanted to break through that girl's composure.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was tired. They had been walking for over an hour. She was soaked to the skin. Apart from these circumstances, she had been curious to see the BattleMech her lance had shot down, but that machine could not be seen from the road. The hills and overgrown plants concealed most of the view to the side. They had reached the road and followed it down to the first ambush site. The decoy hover APC still smoldered, the smell of burnt fuel and flesh heavy in the air. Many minutes later, they came upon a salvage team. They were surveying the destroyed hover transports. Still parked in their places of concealment, she realized they had not stood a chance. Along the side of the road, the fallen Combine soldiers had been laid out. Two men were going through their pockets and rucksacks. One of the men was recording the contents on a small note computer while the other did the actual searching.

Minh stopped at the line of bodies. She half expected the androids to force her forward. The three behind her stopped with her. The two in front paused after several steps and turned to watch her. Each corpse lay face up, countenance peaceful as in sleep or exhibiting a variety of expressions. The looks ranged from shock and surprise to fear, pain and rage. She knew or recognized each corpse. Sho-ko Williams was there. So was that stout Go-cho she remembered from the sentry tower. She never knew her name before, but the name tag on her shirt read Trane. She was startled by the similarity to her own family name. She walked down the line, looking for those she knew on a day to day basis. Some she found, others were missing. The missing ones had been in hover crews, so they were most likely entombed in the burned wreckage. There was no sign that her company had killed any of the attackers. If any attackers had been killed, their bodies had probably been taken away.

The two surveyors stopped in their task. Minh ignored them. They remained silent, watching her. She felt distant from her own emotions, numb and unfeeling. She did not understand her lack of expression. Could she be in shock? Perhaps the concussion from the last autocannon strike that killed Brenner had affected her brain. The time immediately after the explosion was a blank to her. Maybe she had yet to regain her senses.

Some of the bodies showed bandages from their previous wounds. They should have remained in the hospital to completely recuperate, not risk their lives again so soon. These soldiers had been the more recent arrivals to Demeter. They had not trained with the company as long as the other recovering veterans. They had rushed to the training company to share their knowledge and experience, only to share in the death as well.

Reaching the last of the remains, she turned and looked up at android leader. At least, she assumed it was the leader. She could feel her thighs and calves ache during this brief respite from the march. She did not wish to continue, but she was determined not to ask for mercy from these soldiers.

This was not how she expected the enemy to act toward a defeated enemy. Except for the MechWarrior in the hills, there had been no animosity. Instead of brutality, these troops exhibited casual indifference.

The leader gestured with the claw and Minh obediently began the next leg of her trek down the road. As she moved away, here thoughts remained behind with the dead. It was obvious that the bodies had been laid aside to make searching them more organized. But, once they were finished, what would happen then? Would the remains be returned to their base? Would they be buried up here? Or would they be left on the side of the road for the inhabitants of Provost to deal with? Would their families be told of their fate?

Minh thought about her family. Would she see them again? Would she be permitted to contact them? Perhaps they would believe she had died in her tank. Her mother had been against her enlistment in the militia. She believed her duty was with the family, but she was unable to stop her. At eighteen years of age, she did not require parental approval. Minh had believed the recruiter's promises of a paid college education after serving six years in the militia. She saw the opportunity to become more than a corn farmer. Despite the automation in the corn fields, there was a lot of physical labor involved. Loading the planting machinery still required muscular effort. It was considered wasteful for the machines to gather the huskings from the fields. Having too much machinery was also wasteful. There was always a place for manual labor, and in the family business, the owner's oldest issue was not exempt. Her brother also worked at the farm. Though younger than she, he was the oldest male and would inherit ownership of the business. At one time she hoped to work in her uncle's distillery, but he had made it clear that only the son of his sister would be welcome to work for him. Her only contribution had been to help harvest the corn which was sent to the distillery. The derivative was a popular brand of sipping whiskey, some of which was exported off planet. Her only future would have been a life of unrewarding hard work with the prospect of being married off in a business arrangement.

Although Minh was small and wiry, she had a strength that belied her appearance. A hard worker, she had never given her family reason to be displeased with her. That was most likely the main reason her mother objected to her departure. Having grown up in this circumstance, she was accustomed to it. She held no ill will against her parents nor their choice of marriage mate. The son of another farming family, Minh had never met the man but knew he was a MechWarrior in the DCMS. It was the life that had been chosen for her that she was rebelling against.

Thinking of her family returned her mind to the present. Concerned for their welfare, she hoped her family would be spared the consequences of this assault.

So engrossed in her thoughts, she did not notice the androids stop in front of her. She had stepped between them without notice, only stopping when a metal arm brought her up short. She bumped into it before she heard the high pitched turbine of an approaching hover car.

The noise grew louder as she peered through the misty rain. She wondered if it would stop in time, because the group was standing in the middle of the road. She assumed that the androids were expecting the car. Standing at the forefront, she found herself waiting patiently once more.

She saw a pair of lights appear from the haze, followed by a shadowy form. It rapidly took shape and she recognized it as a public works vehicle from the Provost office. The turbine changed pitch as the car abruptly decelerated. The air cushion supporting the vehicle splashed mud and water on the waiting assembly. The car settled to the road and two gull wing doors swung up. Two men stepped out into the road and approached them.

One man was obviously a guard. He wore a flak vest and helmet, but his only weapon was a laser pistol holstered to his hip. The other man was short, like Minh. He wore a cloak. When he stopped in front of Minh, she would see that he was of Asian descent as well. It must have been the rain in her eyes, she decided. The man's head seemed a bit larger than normal and his eyes were set wider apart. Maybe it was the delayed trauma of the explosion she had been subjected to.

The man was speaking to her. In Japanese. She understood Japanese, being born and raised in the Draconis Combine, but she could not understand his words. It was obvious that he only had cursory study. He spoke too slow and the syllables did not make sense. Without thinking, she explained she could not understand him. The man turned to the guard.

"Did that sound like Japanese to you?" he asked, the hint of amusement in his voice.

"I would not know," the other man shrugged.

"I spoke Vietnamese," Minh explained, in English. When she was tired, she lapsed into her family tongue. "I understand Japanese, but not yours."

The guard laughed. The short man gave him a small smile, then turned to the androids.

"We will take her with us now," he said. "You are free to return to your mission."

Minh waited for a reply from the androids. Instead, they turned around and ran away in long loping strides. Minh was amazed by the grace and bounding leaps. Instead of following the road, they took to the field. The distance that had taken her an hour to walk down, the five armored robots covered in about a minute uphill. When they disappeared into the haze, she turned back to the two men. The shorter one in the cloak was studying her, no sign of his previous humor in evidence. She looked him in the eye, resolute in her will to show no weakness. Not walking, she was no longer generating body heat. She shivered, despite her effort to hide the tremoring.

"We have a boat to catch," he gestured to the hover car. "Sit in the back." He turned to the guard and told him to drive. Apparently, he must have looked askance at his superior, because there was a response.

"She is docile enough," he said. "I can watch her."

Minh moved into the back seat as she was instructed. She was surprised when he handed her his cloak.

"Put this over you," he said. She accepted the garment and draped it over herself, curling up silently.

xxXxxxXxx

Aerospace Pilot Stev Ch'in settled down into the seat and examined the girl as the hover car wound up it's motors. She lay in a tight ball, her head resting on pale forearms. The strain of exhaustion began to relax from her face as she promptly fell asleep.

Point Commander Keen had reported that he had captured a soldier from the tank company. Stev had imagined a large man who had survived the annihilation of the inner sphere force. Instead, the reality was totally different from his imagination. Arriving to pick up the survivor, he found a young woman with dark, glittering eyes who was soaked to the skin. Perhaps one of the MechWarriors wanted her as a prospective warrior. Keen had been assigned to bring her to the DropShip. Certainly the Elemental had no use for such a diminutive combatant.

However, Stev couldn't help but be a little impressed with the girl. In spite of her obvious discomfort, she had displayed complete composure over herself. Instead of giving in to panic or trying to foolishly escape, she was taking advantage of badly needed rest.


	2. Chapter 1

The Littlest Elemental: Chapter One by D G Palmer/1

Wolf Clan DropShip Lone Vigil, Demeter

Across the border from the Free Rasalhague Republic, Draconis Combine

30 September 3050

Two men stood in a darkened chamber. One wore a simple jumpsuit and ship boots. The other was clad in a worn leather flight jacket, open to reveal the shirt underneath. He also had uniform trousers and knee-high field boots.

"This is from the Demolisher?" Quint DeVega, the man in the jumpsuit asked.

"MechWarrior Salen's tech pulled the black box out of it," Andre, the other man, confirmed. "None of the other vehicles withstood our marksmanship."

"Let us take a look," Quint waved at the holotank. The combat recording from the battle damaged tank filled the area inside the three dimensional display.

"This old fashioned programming was not meant for holographic play," Andre explained as the graphics appeared. "It would probably look better on screen. I think it was meant for multiple screen format."

Quint dismissed the disguised suggestion, watching the battle unfold from the assorted views from the Demolisher. There was the gunsight view, driving view, commander's periscope view, and status gauges for the weapon and ammunition, engine, fuel, and armor.

"I have set it up to show us the applicable parts," Andre explained. They watched the battle as seen from the tank's crew point of view. The driver could only see the back of a berm while the gunsight had an unobstructed view of the advancing OmniMechs. At first, they were indistinct in the mist and rain. They could hear the radio instruction from Go-Lead to target the leading bird-like 'Mech, a Stormcrow. The tanks fired in a ragged volley. Only two of the tanks struck the OmniMech. The guass slug striking the leg crippled it, effectively removing it from the fight. It was here that Go-Lead was destroyed. Go-Four, the tank from where the recording came, took command. The order was given to move to the next position. Immediately, the tank moved to a new location. Once more, it fired from semi-concealment, this time from over a hill top. It had to crawl forward to make the shot. This was a direct hit on the leg of a Hellbringer. It responded with it's extended range PPC, completely missing the tank as it withdrew again. The Hellbringer then fired it's ultra autocannon, hitting the turret. The diagram of the tank showed a loss of armor from the turret. A status plot charted the progress of loading the gauss rifle. The tank was still moving as the rifle was finally loaded. The Hellbringer fired again with it's autocannon. The tank was struck again, this time in the hull. The driver's position was listed as inoperable and the tank stopped moving. At the same time, the display from the driver's view went black.

"The drive station was part of the crew compartment. Somehow, the gunner survived this hit," Andre reported. "However, she was stunned and that is what we are seeing now."

Time passed as the Hellbringer stalked up the hillside and moved out of the gunsight. The commander's periscope turned and found the Hellbringer.

"The gunner must have known that the battle was lost by now," Andre surmised. "However, in the custom displayed by her fellow troops, she chose to continue the battle."

The gunsight began moving sideways. At the same time, a blot of color, dark and unfocused, passed in front of the commander's periscope. The gunsight brought the OmniMech back into view, the targeting crosshairs centered over the torso. The tank chart registered a further loss of armor from the front of the turret. A moment passed, then the gauss rifle fired. As the arm of the Hellbringer disintegrated, the sight picture shook. The 'Mech took an involuntary step back from the impact of the strike.

"This is where Point Commander Keen captured the gunner," Andre narrated. "Keen reported that the gunner actually ignored the danger to herself to fire this last shot."

The recording did not end there. The Hellbringer stepped out of the gunsight. Within moments, a blur passed in front of the gunsight. It reappeared as the armored Elemental landed on the ground some distance from the tank, the gunner slung beneath the clawed arm. In the next instant, the gunner was dropped to the wet ground. As the gunner rose unsteadily, Andre continued speaking.

"If the tank had been fully crewed, she would have been able to shoot the weapon at the maximum firing rate," he conjectured. "The Hellbringer would have been defeated."

The recording showed the gunner taking off her helmet to remove a set of headphones. A MechWarrior in shorts and cooling vest appeared behind her. She turned the gunner around to face her and threw the gunner's helmet away. She was visibly taller than the gunner. She gestured in agitation, her words not recorded by the battleROM, then stalked away.

"Apparently MechWarrior Salen was upset that her opponent was a young girl," Andre continued. The gunner looked in the direction that Salen had disappeared to, then faced the gunsight. Rain was beginning to wet her short hair down. Her face seemed young. Her dark eyes appeared to be expressionless. Perhaps she was still in shock from the defeat in battle.

"She appears to be very small in stature," Quint observed.

"Aff, I carried her into the DropShip myself. She was comatose with exhaustion. I have her effects here," Andre announced. "According to her armed forces identification, she is eighteen years old. There are three different dates here to determine her age. I've never seen this before. Terran standard, the Kurita ruling year I assume, and Demeter's planetary date. One hundred forty seven centimeters tall. Thirty nine kilograms in weight."

"She is small," Quint interjected. He held his hand out for the card and Andre gave it to him. "Minh Tran," he read the name printed beneath the picture of the young woman. In contrast to the bedraggled woman recorded in the battleROM, the portrait displayed a serene-face and neat chin-length hair. "A member of the militia, not military. Not proper warrior caste. Rank of heishi. Heishi? What is that?"

"The Draconis equivalent of private. She was wearing these insignia for sergeant, so I assume there was a recent field promotion," Andre held up the collar pins.

"What else do you have?" Quint looked at the other items Andre had.

"Her ID tags, her belt, and a comb."

"You took her belt?"

"These Draconis combatants have displayed an extremely fanatical aversion to capture," Andre explained. "I do not want her strangling herself."

"You said she was in a coma?" Quint questioned him.

"She has been running on adrenalin and nerve for at least a day," Andre explained. "Point Commander Keen marched her down from the hills in that rain. I think he is impressed by her stamina and composure. I was able to dispatch Aerospace Pilot Stev Ch'in to pick her up. As soon as she was in the car, she curled up like a pup and went to sleep. A doctor looked her over when they arrived here and she would not wake up. He found no wounds, but she was starting to show bruises from the battle."

"Is this alleged warrior worth the effort?" Quint asked.

"According to Stev, she speaks three languages."

"When did he have time to find that out?" Quint asked.

"He tried to speak to her in the language of the Draconis Combine," Andre answered. "She first replied in a language he had never heard before. When she heard him speak English, she informed him she understood the language, but not the way he pronounced it."

Quint chuckled. "It must have been a blow to his ego to hear that. How many languages does he know?"

"I believe he understands the primary language of each major house of the Inner Sphere," Andre recalled.

The Inner Sphere. Planets under the influence of the great houses with the Terran home world at their core. Being Clan, these warriors were invading from beyond the periphery states, the planets on the settled rim of the sphere.

"This deep probe has been a bust for collecting bondsmen," Quint shook his head. "I hope the intelligence you are gathering makes this expedition worthwhile. I am still not convinced we can gain additional information apart from the telecommunication hypercasts our JumpShips can intercept."

"The media we have collected so far could have been misleading. I want to find out what the people of the Inner Sphere really think," Andre responded to the familiar argument. "Stev Ch'in will be speaking with the civilians in town tomorrow. He has already spoken to rural residents. Apparently, they are uninformed about the Clans. Their government has been misleading them, convincing them of false victories where we know they have been defeated.

"We already know the garrison forces are as motivated as the front line troops we've faced. The few BattleMechs we faced fought in the manner of zellbrigen. They fought valiantly, but did not eject when their machines were destroyed. Those pilots might have made good bondsmen.

"Their armored vehicles are another story. They were undermanned. With full crews for loading and shooting, they would have made better opponents. The Demolisher tanks were under equipped and under gunned."

"Under gunned? They were armed with gauss rifles, quaff?"

"Aff. Normally, Demolishers were originally equipped with two main assault class guns," Andre explained. "Instead of assault weapons, these had one gauss rifle instead. I can only assume that, sometime in the past, the original guns were transferred to front line units. I understand that the warriors of the Draconis Combine prefer close-in combat with their enemies. The short range of the assault guns are ideal for that."

"Logical," Quint concurred. "You also said 'under equipped.'"

"These tanks are normally equipped with automatic loading systems," Andre clarified. "These tanks relied on manual loaders, which also helped to reduce their effective rate of fire. I imagine that the automatic loaders were cannibalized for front line units or perhaps they had failed and were replaced with the simpler equipment. The lack of training in the militia may have led to their lack of material readiness."

"I see," Quint nodded thoughtfully.

"Many of the militia demonstrated a low level of expertise in battle," Andre continued. "Violating zellbrigen, they concentrated their fire against individual OmniMechs. Were I still a star captain, I could have bid a single star of green Elementals and still beat them in combat."

"If you had remained a star captain, you would have most likely be star colonel now and I would be working for you," Quint said in a tone not unkind.

Andre lowered his head in silent affirmation of Quint's statement. Years before, he had been Star Captain Andre. Quint had been one of his Star Commanders. The two MechWarriors had been participating in a Trial of Position for a pair of potential warriors leaving their sibko. Andre, Quint, and a third MechWarrior were arrayed against one of the sibkin. Three more opponents faced the other. As the opposing forces met, Andre found himself under attack first by a Summoner OmniMech. Under the rules of zellbrigen, no other opponent would intervene in the battle until it was resolved. Andre's OmniMech, a Timber Wolf, took a Particle Projection Cannon shot to the right torso. In addition, his armor was peppered by Long Range Missile and Short Range Missile fire. Such an all out attack wasted ammunition on one opponent, making no provision for engaging the other two. This strategy had informed Andre that this sibkin had no real hope of defeating more than one opponent. He intended to use that desperation as a weapon. He fired both of his LRM launchers and half of his energy weapons to keep his heat down as he closed in. The Summoner shook with the impact of the hits, then salvoed on him again. The PPC removed armor from his right arm, indicating to Andre that the Summoner pilot was trying for aimed shots. A second strike in the right torso would expose his LRM ammunition, risking explosion. With Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment, total destruction of the Timber Wolf was unlikely. Andre fired again, his accuracy improving with shorter range. Equipped with jump jets, the Summoner leaped overhead. Commonly known as Death From Above, even when perfectly executed, both 'Mechs could be damaged in the physical attack. Far from perfect, the Summoner had missed to the side. Turning to face the Summoner, he unleashed both PPC's to put an end to the battle once and for all. The weapons scoured armor from the Summoner, actually penetrating the left arm from one of the hits. At that point, the battle did end. For Andre. The summoner's PPC hit the Timber Wolf's right torso again. Nearly a full load of missiles detonated with fiery fury. With CASE installed, blow out panels channeled the blast away from the 'Mech. Though disabled, it would be repaired to fight again. Unfortunately, the blast also generated a vicious neurofeedback signal through the electronics that fed directly into his neural helmet. The signal fried his ability to ever pilot a BattleMech again.

With Andre's fall in battle, Quint engaged the Summoner and quickly dispatched it through the armor strikes Andre had made. That had been how Salen qualified as a MechWarrior. That was why Andre had been interested in the minor battle against armored vehicles and infantry in the hills. In his opinion, Salen was lukewarm in skill only. Unfortunately, that skill was better than his own debilitating dispossession. In a world where BattleMechs were king of the battlefield, Andre had next to no standing. He lost his command status, reduced in rank to warrior.

He was not ready to join a solahma unit. A combat force made up of older and disabled warriors, they generally performed garrison duties and suicide missions, freeing first line units for more important tasks. With the invasion of the Inner Sphere soon to be launched, Andre had wanted to make a serious contribution to the Wolf Clan.

After coming to grips with his injury, he began to consider his options. Unlike Stev Ch'in, he had no talent for languages, but he had a curious mind. Letting his mind wander, he would ponder the Inner Sphere. Years ago, the Wolves had received reports by agents posing as mercenaries. In recent times, there had been no word. With no standing, Andre could get no one to provide him with a reason why.

Andre's idea was for a trinary to jump into the rear area of the enemy once the invasion had commenced. It was a redical plan, as detractors objected due to being unClan-like. There was no honor in the actions of a thief. That was what espionage was, the actions of sneaking behind an opponent's back and stealing information. With Andre's lack of official standing in the Wolf Clan, he relied on the sponsorship by Star Colonel Quint DeVega. Quint did not like the aspect of espionage either. When the plan was presented as an opportunity to try new opponents in battle, as a raid behind enemy lines, he agreed to approach the Wolf Khan for permission.

Returning to the matter at hand, he had to admit to a morbid fascination with Salen. In addition to his personal dislike, he was actually delighted in her encounter with the small Minh.

Andre wondered if Keen would claim Minh as isorla, the spoils of battle. What use an Elemental would have for such a small person, he could not fathom. Perhaps he wanted her as a mascot, as some warriors are wont with exotic animals. As a bondswoman, a laborer so to speak, her uses would be limited. She might be productive as an interpreter, but her young age ruled out any additional experience and skills. Perhaps her interrogation would reveal hidden traits.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh Tran gradually awakened, her head feeling heavy. She was disoriented and confused. Aches competed for attention all over her body. She did not want to wake up, wanting to escape the throbbing pain of a headache. Her throat was dry, making her aware of sore throat and fever. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the back seat of a hover car, a cloak over her for warmth. Now she found herself in a bunk beneath a blanket. She had no recollection how she got there. Sitting up, she was stiff. Her arms, legs, and back were tender in spots from the bruising she received in her tank. Removing the blanket, she tried to leave the bunk. Her legs cramped as she tried to stand. She sank slowly to the floor, using her arms to support herself against the bunk. She beat and massaged her thighs and calves to get the blood circulating in them. While she did this, she took stock of her situation.

Someone had removed her socks and boots. Looking around, she could not see them. She imagined that it was to make it difficult for prisoners to escape. Her trousers felt loose, the waist low on her hips. She realized her belt was missing also.

A wall fixture caught her attention, a basin. The wash basin was a zero-gravity model, cluing her to the fact she was on a ship, most likely a grounded DropShip. She had never seen sinks like this, but the veterans in her company had spoken of them to the untraveled militia members. That being the case, she knew the proper shipboard nomenclature for floor was deck.

Standing carefully, she held her pants as she moved unsteadily to the basin. She tested the faucet, rewarded with the flow of water. There was no squeeze bulb to imbibe from, so she lowered her face to the dispenser. It pointed straight down at the sink. Placing her head in the basin, she had to twist her neck to get her mouth to the nozzle. A stream escaped the side of her lips and dripped alongside her face. Water entered her ear.

Having her fill, she withdrew herself from the sink. Shaking her head to rid her ear of the water, she sat back on her bunk, then looked around at what she dubbed a stateroom. The drinking alleviated her headache a little bit. All of the recessed cabinets were missing doors. She could see where there used to be a mirror over the basin. The door to the privy was gone. She assumed that anything she would use in an escape or attack had been taken out of her reach. It was a lot of effort to go to if they had captured many more than herself.

Walking across the cool metal deck, she tried to open the door. It was locked. She thought she heard footsteps outside of the door, but the sound faded quickly. The aches in her calves began to irritate her again. She returned to the bunk with mincing steps and crawled onto it. Sitting with her legs stretched out on the bunk, she rubbed her sore muscles. As she tended to herself, she inspected her hands as they squeezed and kneaded. If there was one feature about herself she did not like, it was her hands. They looked like they belonged to an older woman. Working for her family, her hands had gotten a lot of wear. Like the other workers, she wore a straw hat and loose clothing when in the corn fields to protect her from the bright sunlight. That was why her skin had developed no tan. However, the variety of work on a farm was hard on a menial's hands, even with gloves on. Her father chose to employ an army of workers rather than pay for the upkeep of an expensive AgroMech. Plow tractors and trailor-towing trucks were the most advanced farming equipment to be found on the farm. All of the corn was harvested by hand. To show his employees that he was not exploiting them, her father would spend time in the fields himself, overseeing and performing some of the work himself. He expected his daughter to be first in the field and the last out. That was how she developed strength and endurance in her small body. Some days she would work around the house, cleaning and tending chores for her mother. The family had very little automation in the home. Lighting, cooking, and communication were the exception. Natural ventilation served to cool the house in the warmer seasons and a central fireplace heated it in the mild winter. She had split a lot of wood, along with the help of her younger brother when he was old enough. Lost in contemplation, she was surprised by the opening of the door.

Two men appeared in the doorway. Identically attired in jumpsuits and boots, they exhibited no sign of having a weapon. One stepped into the room, carrying a bundle of clothing, which he deposited next to Minh.

"Change your clothes," the other man instructed her. "You will be fed soon." With that, the men withdrew from the stateroom and closed the door behind them.

From what she had observed, the room was apparently not monitored electronically. This visit came as a result from her attempt to open the door. The guard outside had heard it and had gone to bring a companion.

Swinging her legs off of the bunk, she looked over the new clothes. She discovered a tight-fitting undershirt, trunks, and a jumpsuit. In addition, there was a square wash cloth and a small bar of soap. There were no shoes. She was unsteady as she removed her uniform. Having previously been soaking wet, it was mostly dry now. Her undergarments were still damp. She assumed that the water resistant quality of her uniform had kept the moisture in. When she removed her shirt, she noticed that her gunso, sergeant, insignia had been taken from her collar points. She could see the pin holes in the material where the devices had been. Perhaps they had been taken for the same reason as the doors in the stateroom. To deny her possible tools and weapons. She recalled the surveyors at the battlefield, systematically searching the dead. Feeling soiled, she checked herself. Her militia identification card was missing from her pockets. Her necklace with ID tag was gone too. Having worn it against her skin inside her uniform shirt, she felt a sense of violation. She imagined the scene, one of the surveyors uncovering her body. He examined her, taking her few possessions, and touching her bare skin without her consent. She shuddered, holding her collar closed around her neck with one hand. She remembered her militia indoctrination. The instruction of prison procedures had been given from the point of view of the guard, not the prisoner. The instructors would have been guilty of defeatism by using the prisoner's point of view. She understood that the purpose of stealing from her was to remove her identity, to brainwash her and make her feel helpless. Even her plastic comb had been taken away, not that she needed it. Brushing at her coarse hair with her fingers, she could feel it fall into place.

With her clothes off, she examined herself. Bruises covered her arms and legs from the various bumps she received in her Demolisher tank. She craned her head around to see why her back was sore. There was a large bruise below her shoulder blade.

She shook out her new clothes and pulled them on. The jumpsuit, in reality coveralls, were too large. She rolled up the cuffs of the sleeves and legs to keep her hands and feet free. She had been accused of being a child. In the oversized clothes, she felt like one. She looked to her old clothes. She spread her wet underclothes over the rim of the basin to dry, then spread her uniform on the bunk. Before she could consider where she would sit down, the guards returned.

"Hold out your right wrist," he instructed her. There was no malice in his voice. Minh complied with the command obediently, watching as he knotted a braided white cord around her wrist.

The guard looked at her face closely. Minh could feel the warmth of her fever on her face. Does he think I am embarrassed? she wondered. He could have assumed the blush of illness to be helpless shame and guilt. Without a further word, the two men left. Listening carefully, she could hear both sets of footsteps in the passage depart. Cautiously, she tried to open the door again. It remained locked to her. Turning around in the stateroom, Minh immediately noticed that her airing clothing had been removed.

At the same time, she was aware of the smell of food. She then noticed that a bowl had been placed on the basin. There was no spoon. She assumed that the lack of a utensil was still another attempt to keep a potential weapon away from her. She did not feel hungry, but she knew she had to keep her strength up. Picking the bowl up, she carried it with her to the bunk. Seated, she drank the steaming soup with carefully sips. It had a meaty taste, like broth. Flakes of vegetable matter did little to add body to it. She wondered if it was completely nutritional and balanced, or if it was just something to keep the prisoners alive until final disposition. Though there was no sign of mistreatment, Minh realized that something unpleasant could occur at any time.

After drinking the soup, she went to the basin. The salt of the soup made her thirsty. She had planned on rinsing the bowl out first, but instead swirled some water around in the bowl, mixing it with the soup residue. She drank that also. Refilling the bowl one more time, she consumed only part of the cool water. Feeling full, she poured the bowl into the sink and set it down. Her head pain was reducing to a dull throb. She assumed she had been suffering from dehydration. She wished the aches she felt all over would fade as well.

Returning to the bunk, she pondered her strange circumstance as she examined the synthetic cord on her wrist. It was soft and smooth against her skin. She was unable to untie it one-handed, so she did not try.

She had no real education beyond mandatory public schooling, graduating at sixteen years of age. For two years after that, she worked full time for her family. In her family, a woman was not expected to advance herself in life. She had seen no prospects in her future, except there had been talk of an arranged marriage. There had been no names mentioned, but Minh knew it would serve mainly to advance the family businesses. Unsatisfied with that, she began looking for alternatives. She had been easily recruited by the planetary militia with the promise for future opportunity of college education. She did not know what she wanted to do with her life, but she was sure she would have an idea once her six years was through. Surely she would see what life would have to offer in that time. As she looked around the stripped stateroom, her dreams vanished like vague memories.

Feeling more listless than ill, she cared little about her present plight. It was too much effort to even consider escape, much less plan one, at the moment. She wanted to lay down again. She looked for the light switch to turn down the light, but could not find it. By the head of the bunk was a comminication panel, consisting of a speaker and empty holes where switches had been. Since her room had no view port, she wondered if the lights were on permanently. Removing the coveralls, she laid them over the foot of the bunk. Then she crawled under the blanket and pulled it over her head to block out the light.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh awakened to the sound of the door opening. Opening her eyes, she saw a handrail in the ceiling. Vaguely she realized that ceilings were called overheads on ships. To one side, an arm and a leg felt cool, compared to the rest of her body. She realized that the blanket had slipped partway off of her. Where she still felt warm, perspiration coated her skin. She turned her head in time to see one of her guards place another bowl of soup on the basin. He picked up the empty bowl and passed her bunk on his way out of the stateroom. Self-consciously, she pulled the blanket over her arm and leg as he glanced down at her. He left the stateroom, stepping past the other guard who had watched her from the doorway. Without a word, he closed the door and Minh was alone once more.

She silently debated whether she wanted to get up or not. She was feeling better. Her headache was gone and she no longer felt feverish. There was still some muscle pain. She was aware of a back ache from lying on the bunk and she shifted herself onto her side to alleviate that pain. She wanted to stay there, but a new need assailed her for her attention. Her bladder was full. Her body shaking, she rose and went to the privy to relieve herself. Afterwards, when she stepped out of the small closet, she could smell the sweat on herself. She ran her hand through her hair, feeling the sticky dampness there also. It occurred to her that she must have sweated out the fever and illness. She decided to wash herself before having her soup. Setting the bowl on her bunk, she undressed and gave herself a cold bath. There was no hot water. She dampened the washcloth and rubbed the soap into it before scrubbing her skin with the cloth. She rinsed the cloth out, then ran it over her body to cleanse herself of the soapy film. Her hair posed a problem. There was no way for her to close the drain in the sink so she could dunk her head. Instead, she cupped her hands under the faucet and poured the cold water over her head as she leaned over the sink. She rubbed the bar of soap into her hair for lather, then used additional handfulls of water to rinse. Wringing her short hair into the sink was all she could to to dry it. Picking her shirt and shorts up, she could feel the sweat in them as well. Holding them under the faucet, she rinsed them out, then scrubbed the soap into them and rinsed them out once more. After draping them and the washcloth on the sink, she took her coveralls from the foot of her bunk and pulled them on.

She felt refreshed. She also felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. For a moment she examined that feeling. She was not as helpless as she had assumed. Picking up the bowl, she began drinking the soup.

xxXxxxXxx

As the days passed, Minh settled into a routine. She did not have a watch to consult, but she was able to determine that she was being fed twice a day. She remembered what the strange man had told her about having a boat to catch. The DropShip had yet to launch and she wondered why. Perhaps the battle was going badly for her captors. Her guards, whom she was beginning to consider her keepers, did not seem unduly concerned. They were not armed with any weapons she could see. Perhaps it was to keep any weapon away from her if she should attempt to escape. No words were exchanged, adding to Minh's perception of the strangeness of the situation. She was not in a prison pen like she would expect. She felt it was improbable that she was the only prisoner, especially when her captors had demonstrated the ability to take live prisoners. She couldn't be the only prisoner, could she? She had fought to the death but had been spared. Why? What did these people want?

Hope battled with uncertainty as she endured her solitary confinement. She had never been out of the cramped stateroom and she knew she was losing muscletone. In an attempt to regulate herself, she developed the habit of performing calistenics before having her soup. Clutching a handrail over her head, she pulled herself up until her head touched the overhead, in repetitions of five. In addition, she did push ups, sit ups, jumping jacks, and ran in place. She stretched, bending herself in various directions to maintain her flexibility.

She found herself becoming moody. She knew it was because she was alone and restless. The exercise in small space of the stateroom was not much of an outlet. She could only work-out so much before tiring herself out. For days she had wondered at her lack of emotion, her sense of detachment. Did she have no feeling for what had happened to her? Was she still in shock? Sometimes she felt like she was in a dream.

During the two times a day her keepers fed her, she never asked for anything, nor volunteered a single comment. She sought to deny the enemy the slightest scrap of information through any indiscretion she might make. She only regarded the men with her dark eyes, seeking to mimic the inscrutable Asian stereotype. Not for the first time she wished that she had been prepared for what was happening to her. No one had said anything about what she was enduring. Her indoctrination was brief. In the event that she found herself guarding prisoners, she was instructed to pay attention to them. She was to report anything she saw or heard. One thing she remembered was that any questions she asked her captors could provide them with information. Any request could give them an insight into the procedures of the Draconis Combine's armed forces. Even the discussion of civilian customs could give an invader the ability to blend into society. There had been no guidelines for the conduct of Draconis Combine soldiers who found themselves imprisoned. Her instructor possibly assumed that it would not be necessary.

She knew it was her duty to escape, but the opportunity had yet to present itself. Two guards always delivered her meal to her. She felt she could surprise one of the men and disable him, if she tried, but not both of them. Because they did not carry weapons, she could not snatch one from them and take them prisoner instead. Having no idea of the deck plan of the DropShip, she could not push past the men and run, not with her bare feet. None of her plans seemed remotely possible.

She continued to give herself bird baths, as she considered them. She washed her clothes every third day. The same with her hair, because of the difficulty she faced with wetting her hair in the sink. She could not stand the foul taste of her mouth after the first few days of her captivity. Lacking toothbrush and paste, she used soap and her finger to clean her teeth. It lent a bitter taste to her mouth, but what did she expect? At least she did not feel dirty. With all of the use she was getting out of her soap, it was only natural that she was using it all up. Before it completely disappeared, her keepers provided her with another one.

A feeling of loneliness came over her as she reviewed her strange situation each day. By herself in the stateroom, her person violated by the theft of everything she had carried and worn since her capture, she was at the mercy of her captors. This was not like any prisoner of war camp she had imagined. She wanted to talk to someone, anyone. She considered speaking to the enemy, but only until mealtime. The revelation shocked her and she reminded herself remain strong, not to give in to weakness. When the door opened, her resolve was steadfast and she remained silent. Even when she was alone, she would remain quiet.

xxXxxxXxx

Not in the habit of counting, it was natural that she lost track of the length of her captivity. Three weeks or four, she was not sure. Then, between meals one day, the speaker by the bunk came to life.

"All personnel make preparations for launch!"

Not knowing what she had to do, she improvised. She slipped the empty bowl into the sink. She did not want it falling to the floor during launch. She placed the soap and washcloth with it. Then she sat on her bunk and waited.

And waited. She could feel the DropShip shudder. Distant banging noises and the squeal of massive hydraulics sounded through the ship. She could imagine the tramping BattleMechs boarding the vessel. There was a vibration inside the ship, followed by a heavy shake. Could that be a cargo door closing?

"All personnel to launch stations! Make readiness reports to the bridge!"

Minh continued to sit on the bunk. She felt that she was supposed to do something to prepare for ship movement. There was nothing in the room to clue her to what she should do. The door suddenly opened and her keepers entered. One of them carried a folded net made of straps. She recognized it as cargo netting. The militia had used identical restraints to secure cargo on trucks.

She was pressed back onto the bunk and the men placed the netting over her like a blanket. They buckled it to brackets on the bunk and cinched it down tightly. They tugged experimentally at the straps, then looked at each other and nodded. After looking at her one last time, they departed her stateroom. Alone once more, Minh tested her ability to get free of the netting. Barely able to move, she failed. _Naturally, this is when I need to go to the privy_, Minh thought to herself.

"All stations report ready for launch! All personnel are reminded that unnecessary movement is prohibited until further notice!"

Minutes passed. In that time, she came to understand that her hopes were dashed. If there was an immediate danger of counterattack from the Draconis Combine, these people would be rushing to get back into space. Once the DropShip docked with the JumpShip, any slim chance of escape would disappear. Wherever the ship jumped to, she would be unable to get back. Even if she were somehow able to get free, she could not pilot a DropShip.

She could feel the rumble of the engines of the DropShip begin. The ship shook as pressure pushed down on her prone body. It was gentle at first. She could feel herself sink into the mattress. Gradually, she became heavier. Her kidneys began to hurt. Knowing that liquid did not compress, she was concerned about internal injury. Something had to yield inside her. The mattress molded around her body as the pressure increased. She thought back to when her militia company was waiting for the invaders to land. One of the veterans said that it took DropShips about half an hour to land through the atmosphere of a planet. He did not say how long it took a DropShip to leave the atmosphere. A half hour seemed like a long time to her right then.

An eternity seemed to pass before gravity eased up. She still felt heavier than normal, but she believed that the ship was out in space. A few minutes later, her belief was confirmed.

"All personnel secure from launch stations! On deck, Starboard Watch!"

Minh waited for her keepers to return to release her from the net. She could barely shift herself. Not only did her kidneys bother her, but her back and the underside of her knees hurt. She would have thought that being compressed into the mattress would provide enough slack under the net for her to wiggle free. However, the cargo netting was elastic enough to prohibit that.

She was at the point where she was ready to void her bladder where she lay when the door opened. The two men walked carefully into the stateroom. One carried a dinner bulb in his hands which he placed in the sink. Then he turned and assisted the other guard in removing the netting from Minh. Once that was accomplished, he picked up the empty bowl and the two men departed.

Using a hand hold next to the bunk, Minh pulled herself into a sitting position with great effort. She felt she weighed twice as much as she was used to. Carefully, she shifted her legs over the side of the bunk, then gradually stood. She was thankful that she had exercised so diligently every day, but she still felt very weak. She was doubly thankful when she reached the privy.

Wolf Clan DropShip Lone Vigil

Leaving planet Demeter for JumpShip Trailblaze, Draconis Combine

1 November 3050

During the journey to the JumpShip, Minh remained in her bunk as much as possible. The risk of falling down in the greater gravity was too great. A simple slip while she washed herself could result in a life threatening injury, so she did not bathe. Exercising was out of the question. She only left the bunk when she absolutely had to. Two days had passed when word was passed that the ship would rotate for braking. Her keepers returned with the cargo net and she was imprisoned in her bunk once more.

Minh watched in fascination as she felt herself become weightless. Her soup bulb, soap, and washcloth floated up towards the overhead. The cloth was stiff with dryness, having not been used for days. Slowly, the items drifted along the overhead to one wall. For minutes, everything remained in place, then the braking commenced. She could feel her weight return. The soup bulb bounced onto the deck with a loud noise, masking the sound of the soap and cloth landing with it.

Somewhere in the ship something crashed. Something big. An alarm sounded through the speaker. A tremor of fear set Minh's heart racing. Terse orders she did not understand were shouted from the bridge. Was the DropShip under attack? The engines seemed to become weaker and gravity lessened. She strained at the netting binding her to the bunk. Was the crew getting ready to abandon ship? Would someone come to release her? The thought of dying in the locked stateroom, trapped and helpless, made her fight her bonds. Pulling at the straps in the net, she strained to crawl free. A futile effort.

Several minutes later, exhausted from her struggle, she lay spent and out of breath. Perspiration dampened her face, the lack of gravity letting it remain in place on her skin. She panted, regaining her air. She raised her head to view the net holding her in place. With no gravity, it required next to no effort. She could see the buckles clamping the straps to the brackets on her bunk. She stretched one arm toward a buckle. She wormed her hand as close to the buckle as she could, but the net compressed the mattress too tightly. She tried to twist her wrist to slip her hand through a square in the net, but there was not enough room for her to angle her arm. Looking at what she had been trying to do, an idea occurred to her. Bringing her arm close to her side, she bent her arm until her hand was near her shoulder. She managed to force her hand up through the netting, twisting her arm through the crossed strapping.

Her neck was getting tired and she lay back, permitting her arm to flop down on top of the net. Sweat burned in her eyes and she blinked furiously. The engines were operating again, braking the DropShip once more. Minh could feel that she was back to double her weight. Her forearm lay hard on the netting, inflicting a pain she could feel to the bone. Taking a deep breath with significant effort, she reached for the buckle. Her knuckles brushed the metal fastener and she sought to give her fingers purchase. Consternation replaced her earlier desperation as she unsuccessfully fumbled with the clasp.

The door opened and Minh froze. Her keepers entered her stateroom and regarded her. She looked back at them, her dark eyes wide. The two men did not look neat. Covered with dust, one had a smudge of grease on his face. The other had a serious scratch on the back of one hand. The man with the smudged face approached the bunk and unfastened the buckle Minh had tried to open. With gentle hands, he lifted the corner of the netting and tugged her arm back out of it. Then, surprisingly, he stepped away from the bunk.

"Terance, are you sure you want to do that?" the other man asked him.

"I remember the orders," Terance dismissed the objection. He turned to Minh. "Something came loose and we had to secure it. The bridge is recomputing our course. We're not through maneuvering yet, so stay there." He pointed at her for added emphasis. "Everything is all right." With that, the two men left her.

Minh felt reassured that the guards had come by to check up on her. Having one of the buckles free relieved her of the feeling of being trapped. Nestling her head back onto her pillow, she discovered the peace of sleep.

xxXxxxXxx

After two days of braking, the DropShip drifted up to the JumpShip. Minh remained netted to her bunk, one buckle loose. With the crew at docking stations, she did not expect to see her keepers. The ship spent two hours on the approach. With such a slow velocity, there was complete weightlessness on board. The DropShip shook with the impact of two great vessels linking in space. She visualized giant locking pins engaging the inside of the docking collar, joining the ships fast to each other.

"Secure main drive and thrusters!" the speaker by Minh's bunk called out. "On deck, Duty Section Two." After that, there was silence.

Having no time piece, she did not know how long she waited for something to happen. When would the JumpShip leave the star system? The veterans in her company had related tales about the unpleasantness of interstellar travel. She did not look forward to experiencing it herself.

The sound of walking reached her ears. With the engines silent, she could once more hear her keepers approach. The door opened and the two men walked carefully into her stateroom. Each one took a step, making solid contact with the deck before lifting the other foot. Minh understood that these men wore special ship boots to enable them to walk in the weightless environment.

"End of the line, princess," the man called Terance informed her. "We will take you to the JumpShip. We have to hurry. The Trailblaze is about to generate gravity and you do not want to remain here when they do."

The two men would carry Minh between them, since she had no footwear at all. Gripping her by her elbows, they edged out of the stateroom door.

"Lights off!" Terance snapped curtly. The lights in the stateroom de-energized instantly. Minh stared at the darkened room in disbelief. She remembered all that time spent with her head underneath the blanket trying to block out the light. It never occurred to her that the lights were controlled by voice activation.

They walked along the curving passage. Her stateroom had been on the inside of the curvature. The three proceeded to where a passage branched at a right angle into the curve. Minh determined that the passage led toward the interior of the ship. They followed the inner passage to an elevator, which they rode to the bottom of the DropShip. The two men gripped her arms tightly to prevent her from flying into the overhead. However, when the lift stopped, the momentum of the elevator enabled Minh to stand on the deck momentarily. Exiting the elevator, the group approached the docking and transfer area.

A klaxon sounded through a dock doorway. A disembodied voice carried indistinctly to Minh's ears. The two men towed her to what seemed to be a large airlock. They proceeded to walk around the lock until they stood on one of the walls. A wall with yellow and black warning stripes. The door they had passed through closed behind them. Minh could hear the claxon clearly when it sounded again. A voice warned all personnel that the ship had engaged thrusters.

"Be ready to stand," Terance instructed Minh. She permitted her feet to land flat on the deck as she felt the pull of the artificially generated gravity. As she set foot on the deck, the men released her arms. A moment later, the inner air lock door cycled open.

On the other side of the open door stood two people. A pair of very large people. A man and a woman. The man had bronze skin and a shaved pate. The woman was dusky, with pale hair in a crewcut. Both wore jumpsuits that barely contained their muscular physiques. Minh looked up curiously at the two towering individuals. They returned her look with their own looks of arrogant disdain. Terance touched her shoulder to get her attention.

"It has been a real pleasure to look after you," he said. Minh had the feeling it was for the benefit of the two newcomers as well as her. Not having spoken for weeks, she did not trust herself to speak. She lowered her head in acknowledgement. "I hope to see you again sometime," he said, accepting her gesture. With that, the two men turned and went back into the DropShip.

"This way," the tall man did not wait, but immediately began walking away. The woman gestured imperiously for Minh to follow him. Her shorter strides were no match for his. The woman nudged Minh in the back to hurry her. Her bare feet slapped on the deck as she jogged to keep pace. They quickly arrived at an elevator. Designed for the transfer of personnel and cargo, it was quite large. Minh watched as the woman pressed a button near the top of the panel. The panel had a diagram that was the shape of the JumpShip. At least, Minh assumed that was what the shape represented. An indicator that had been lit up at the mid-point of the diagram went out as the elevator began movement. The lights came on and went off in sequence, showing the elevator's progress up the narrow spine of the JumpShip and into the command and passenger section. When the elevator stopped, Minh was directed to move once more.

Through the maze of passages Minh observed more personnel. Some of them wore white wrist braids just like hers. They did not seem to be prisoners. She recalled Terance's hope to see her again. Perhaps that meant she would have free run of the ship like these others. There were other giants as well. They did not walk as fast as the two with Minh, so she concluded that they were making her run on purpose.

The man she was following stopped at an open door. He turned and faced her.

"In," he commanded. Minh obediently complied. They seemed disappointed by her meek conduct. She wondered if their forceful conduct was calculated to make her rebel, to give them a reason to take action against her. Once inside, she found herself in a cell that was smaller than the small stateroom she had been living in. She faced her jailors. They stared at her boldly, as if they expected something from her. Clasping her hands in front of her, she bowed to them, holding it for several seconds before straightening up.

The man and woman looked at each other in bemusement. The woman opened her mouth to say something, but shook her head instead. The man looked back at Minh. He gave a short disdainful sniff, then closed the door.

Minh looked around the prison cell. The cell was no longer than the bunk it contained. At the head of the cell was a basin and a privy stood at the foot of the bunk. She could see no control for the light panel installed in the bulkhead over the doorway. Thinking of her stateroom, she spoke out.

"Lights off!" her voice sounded strange in her ears, rough and shrill with disuse. The light remained on.

Hugging herself, she noticed that the cell was cooler than her stateroom. The metal deck sucked the heat out of her feet. Stepping onto the bunk, she sat on it, her legs curled underneath her so she could sit on her feet. Sitting there, she suddenly understood the man's sniff. She had not bathed in four days. She wished she had thought to bring her soap and wash cloth, for there was nothing to wash with in the cell.

Her mind dwelled on the things she had just seen during her transfer. She recalled her previous thoughts about the robots that had captured her. Back then, it had been unbelievable that there were people that large. Now she had seen a number of them.

While she had been in the cell, she heard a series of tones sounding from loud speakers in the passage. She recalled another bit of information from the veterans in her company. Before a JumpShip made an interstellar jump, it would warn the occupants of the ship with sounds. The alarms sounded several minutes in advance so the people on board could secure themselves. Minh looked around the cell. There were no straps in the cell. The bunk had brackets, but no straps. There was not even a handrail. She assumed that if gravity were turned off, the small cell did not require handrails. There was no surface that would be farther than an armlength away.

Minh backed herself toward the head of the bunk, bracing herself in the corner. She sank down and hugged her knees to her chest. She did not know what to expect. The veterans related that different individuals were affected different ways. Some noticed nothing. Others experienced waking nightmares. Some became nauseous, for seconds or hours after the jump.

Part of her dilemma arose from the fact that she did not know how much time she had before the jump. The uncertainty fed her dread. She found herself wishing it were tomorrow. Then the jump would have already happened and she would not be worrying about it. She could feel the two bulkheads before they met in the corner with her shoulder blades. The cool painted metal leeched the warmth from her back, causing her to shiver. At that moment, five warning tones sounded. To Minh, they could have been from a bell or a xylophone. The cell door muffled the sound so she could not be sure.

A hole appeared before her eyes, suddenly expanding to fill the cell. No, the cell fell into the hole, sucked in like water flowing down a drain. A rainbow of colors flashed into being, spinning around her head and around themselves at the same time. Somehow, the vague shapes twisted themselves inside out, changing color. Or was it her mind that was coming apart? At the same time, intense heat compressed against her whole body. She seemed to be light and heavy at the same time. There was a popping noise. At least Minh was sure it was a popping noise. It could have been an explosion. Or was that implosion?

She did not understand why the Kearny-Fuchida drives were able to propel ships thirty lightyears at a time. It did not make sense that the ships did not move, but that the ships somehow folded and warped the fabric space to transfer the vessel from one part of space to another.

Minh found herself lying curled on her side, her head at the foot of the bunk. The blanket beneath her felt warm, telling her that she had been laying there for a while. She must have fainted during the transfer. She raised her head, regretting the movement at once. She was extremely dizzy and suddenly sick to her stomach. She clawed her way off of the bunk, her legs collapsing as she tried to stand on the deck. Fortunately, the space was small and she was facing the right way. With her face in the privy, she heaved the contents of her stomach into the commode. She remained huddled on the deck for a long time, crouched over the privy, shaking and weak from retching. Finally, she turned and pulled herself up to the basin. Cupping her hand under the faucet, she sipped cold water and rinsed her mouth out, spitting out the fouled liquid repeatedly until the sour taste went away. Then she cupped both hands under the faucet and splashed her heated face, cooling herself.

Sprawling on the bunk, she was disgusted with her frailty. Would she be ill every time she boarded a ship? She knew she did not want to make another jump. She also knew that the only way back home was by jumping. She tried to forget the contradictory sensations she experienced, but the flashback seemed to take control. She did not believe she had fainted again, but time seemed to have passed as she stared upward unseeing, her mind mercifully blank.

The door opened, jogging her from her empty reverie. A man she had never seen before deposited a food bulb and a bundle on her bunk. He did not have to lean in very far from the door. After the door closed, Minh sat up. The bulb contained soup. She set it aside, not wanting to look at it. Her stomach seemed to be settled, but she was not hungry. The bundle piqued her interest. As she hoped, she found soap. In addition to a washcloth, she found a small hand towel. She was thankful for the towel. The DropShip had been warmer and easier to get dry in. Though not ready to eat, the opportunity to wash energized her. As before, no hot water was available. She scrubbed her skin, washed her hair, then laundered the smell from her clothes. She draped her clothes on the sink to dry out, then crawled under her blanket to get warm. She shivered, feeling the rough cloth of the blanket chafe against her bare skin.

Minh had begun to relax now that she felt clean. Her mind drifted as she warmed up beneath the blanket. Drowsiness stole over her senses. On the verge of slumber, she suddenly jolted to wakefulness. The opened her eyes, but could not see. She sat up, feeling cool air rush into the blanket. For a moment, she was confused. Then she lay back down, realizing that the light had been turned off. For the first time in weeks, she was in total darkness. She pulled the blanket up and permitted herself to slip into a satisfied slumber.

Wolf Clan JumpShip Trailblaze

en route to Clan Wolf occupied space

5 November 3050

"How is your subject?" Star Colonel Quint DeVega asked Andre. The two men were in a small control room. Observation equipment and recording devices covered one bulkhead. View screens and computer monitors lined another bulkhead. A technician sat in a chair in front of the screens, of which two were active.

"Apparently she is susceptible to jump sickness. We thought she had a seizure, but she came out of it when she was brought food. She didn't eat, but she did bathe herself and clean her clothes," Andre reported. "Then yesterday, we noticed she has a routine."

"And the other one?" Quint inquired.

"He is still uncooperative," Andre answered. "He has not tried to escape or actively resist since we lifted."

"'Actively?'" Quint picked up on the qualifier.

"He is making demands," Andre explained. "He wants to know where we are going. He wants a razor to shave and scissors to cut his hair. He wants solid food."

"I see," Quint looked at the monitor.

"I plan to keep him in solitary for a few more weeks," Andre pointed at the figure in the monitor. The bearded man sat motionless on the bunk, glaring at the door. As they watched, he shouted something. From the satisfaction on his face, it seemed to be more for his own personal benefit than for anyone outside of the door. "It will take that long to organize and make sense out of the information we have gathered. By that time, we will know how best to direct our interrogations."

"Very well. Do it," Quint ordered. "And the girl?"

Andre signaled the technician.

"Now," the tech spoke into a microphone.

The men watched the other monitor. They watched an overhead view of the cell containing Minh. The girl sat on the bunk, her legs folded and ankles crossed. She faced the door with her back to the bulkhead. Within moments, the door opened and a guard deposited a food bulb on the bunk in front of her. With hands on her knees, she leaned forward in a bow and held it for a few seconds. She raised herself back up just in time to see the guard leave. When the door closed, she unfolded her legs and picked up the bulb. Placing it in the sink, she stretched out on the bunk and began performing push ups, five at a set.

"She works out before every meal," Andre said. "The number of sets she does varies from day to day." They watched as she exercised. As she progressed, her breathing became audible over the speaker.

"Seven sets this time," the tech noted as Minh slipped off the bunk and removed her jumpsuit. Clad in her top and trunks, she sat on the deck. She scooted herself toward the sink and braced her knees beneath it. She reclined her back onto the deck, then cupped her hands behind her head and pointed both elbows forward. She took a deep breath, then, while exhaling, sat up and touched her elbows to her knees. She accomplished several of them rapidly, but quickly slowed down. She could not complete her last sit up. She lay back, stretching her arms out. She pulled herself up off the deck, unkinking her muscles as she did so. Facing the door, she bent herself back over the bunk. Then she turned around and stretched each leg on the bunk, holding the foot with her hands as she did so. When she had both feet on the deck again, she started jumping in place. Feet spread apart, then feet together. Her arms swung up and then down with each hop.

"That's her personal best," the tech said as Minh completed her jumping jacks. Waving a hand in her face for air circulation, she marched her legs, lifting her knees high. At the same time, she plucked at her top to fan air over her body. Finally, she stopped. Removing the food bulb from the sink, she lowered her head to the sink and splashed water on her face.

"This is what you have been doing?" Quint asked dryly. The tech observed his devices studiously, not saying anything more. Andre merely smiled. Quint still had his doubts about the operation.

"Except for the first day, she has remained silent," Andre noted. Quint looked at him for an explanation. "She tried to turn the light off to her cell. Presumably she believed it to be on voice command."

"Does she have any knowledge worth knowing?"

"No one knows," Andre shrugged. "Apart from the day she was taken into custody, she has maintained her silence. She has not said one word to anyone."

"She has heart."

Andre was startled by the new voice. Deep and resonant, it was not unpleasant to listen to. He turned his head, tilting it upward to regard the speaker.

"I did not hear you come in, Keen," he said, sounding surprised. He would have thought that a man with so much muscle mass would make noise. A display of dexterity by someone with his size and power should not be unexpected. Keen was the result of advanced genetic engineering, refined over centuries. Literally designed to be the ultimate infantryman, this Elemental was the pinnacle of that endeavor.

"I was right behind you when you entered," Keen explained in a matter-of-fact manner. His dark hair was cut short to the scalp, flat on top, much in the manner of most of the Elementals in the Trinary.

"What is your interest in this individual?" Quint asked. "What do you intend to do with her?"

"What does any warrior do with a bondsman?"

"This is highly irregular," Quint protested. "Look at her. She is small and delicate. You cannot take her as an Elemental!"

"So my star commander tells me," Keen said. "After the Trial of Refusal, the matter will be settled."

"It is not a matter of approval or permission," Quint exclaimed, looking at Keen incredulously. "You cannot seriously believe that you can do this!"

"Success or failure depends on her," Keen nodded to the monitor.

"She is too short to wear power armor," Quint continued. Something caught his eye and he looked at the tech. The man had remained silent through the conversation. He studiously regarded his equipment, obviously trying to contain himself. He seemed uncomfortable.

"Adjustments can be made," Keen intoned. "I have looked into the possibility."

The tech inhaled as if he were about to speak.

"Be silent, Don!" Keen ordered, seeming portentous of action. The tech ran a hand over his face, as if wiping away his reaction.

"Andre, it would seem your unorthodox manner is contagious. I cannot help but wonder if that neural accident fried your brain." Quint said. If he noticed the flash of anger from Andre, he did not acknowledge it. "Where did you come up with intelligence gathering?"

"After getting my brain fried, I studied the archives," Andre replied acidly. It was not the first time Quint made offensive comments about his BattleMechanical disability. "There is a lot to be learned from history. Prior to the Exodus, the great houses employed intelligence networks inside their rivals' domain. In many cases, foreknowledge of an opponent led to less waste of resources. What he was capable of, what he was willing or unwilling to do, what any third party would do to intervene."

"Spying," Quint muttered distastefully. "Espionage is not honorable. Dishonor is not the Clan way."

"Using an excess of force on an opponent is not honorable," Andre countered. "That is what we did here. In conquering these inner sphere forces, we wasted them."

"Are you saying that there would have been less waste if we had been more comparable in force against them?" Quint asked.

"Probably not," Andre conceded. "But knowledge is power."

"But without power, what good is knowledge?" Quint countered.

Without a word, Keen had departed from the room. Quint made a grimace, gesturing at the closed door.

"I was going to question Keen about his research," he said. "How does a man over two meters tall look into power armor for people the size of Aerospace Pilots?"

The tech made a noise. Recalling Keen's earlier outburst, Quint turned to him.

"What do you know about this, Don?" he asked.

"Keen caught me wearing a suit of Elemental armor," Don admitted.

"What were you doing in power armor?" Quint demanded.

"I'm a weapons tech," Don said.

"What was that?" Quint interrupted him.

"Hunh?" Don was mystified.

"What did you say?"

"I'm a-."

"Watch your language, tech!" Andre snapped out.

"Oh, sorry. I am a weapons tech," Don corrected himself. He had never understood why contractions were prohibited. Usually, he remembered not to use them around warriors. Usually. "I work mostly with small arms. Last year I was assigned to maintaining suits. I have always wanted to try one on for size."

"Did it work?" Andre asked.

"Oh, sure," Don chuckled. "I had to make adjustments for fit."

"Keen knew you were doing this?" Quint asked.

"I was trying to walk around the armory," Don said. "It's harder than it looks. I crashed and Keen heard me."

"Crashed? You engaged jump jets?" Quint demanded.

Don belatedly realized he used another contraction, but the two warriors either did not notice or did not care at the moment.

"No, sir! I'm not as dumb as I look," he answered, cringing at another contraction. "I was using a spare suit. No weapons were loaded nor armed. The jump jets were not charged."

"When was this?" Quint asked.

"Several months ago," Don replied.

"When Keen caught you, what did he say?" Andre asked.

"I was instructed to stay out of the armor," Don replied. "I am not an Elemental, much less a warrior, so I am not entitled to the honors accorded to my betters."

"I am surprised he did not rip your head off," Quint said indelicately.

"Actually, the subject did come up," Don actually shook in his skin. "He told me the only reason he did not throw me out an airlock was that he was satisfied with my maintenance. If I overstepped my station again, he would get rid of me. Permanently."

"I see," Quint said.

"Then he came to me last month with all sorts of questions," Don continued. "He wanted my point of view, since the suit was not made for someone my size. He asked if I could adjust a suit for someone as small as an Aerospace Pilot."

"And your answer?" Quint asked.

"I think it is possible," Don judged.

Wolf Clan JumpShip Trailblaze

en route to Clan Wolf occupied space

12 November 3050

Minh had been obsessing over what she was going to do about her jump sickness. She was of the opinion that she should be able to minimize the adverse affects, if not eliminate them altogether. When she heard the preliminary jump warning tones in the passage outside her cell door, she calmly lay on her bunk and tried to relax. She closed her eyes and tried to believe she was somewhere else. In her mind, she could see rows of corn stalks, gently waving in the wind. She shivered in the cool cell, which helped her imagine the cool breeze. She listened for the rustling sound of the leaves.

She is surprised by a loud creaking noise. There was a sound of a massive bulkhead tearing apart, banging and shaking. Her eyes snapped open in time to see the overhead dissolve before her eyes. The painted metal disappeared with sparkling explosions. She could not feel the rush of air escaping into the vast vacuum of space, but that realization did not keep her from feeling fear. Was the ship going to vanish from around her? Would she remain in jump limbo? Why was this happening?

In the midst of this confusion, a pale oval appeared. She thought it might be the stellar heart of a star system, but it solidified into facial features. She could feel the gaze from the eyes as if something tangible. She did not recall the identity of the face, so she did not know what this hallucination represented. She thought about trying to move, but before she could do so, the ceiling suddenly coalesced into existence once more, blotting out the face.

Minh lay still, evaluating the affects to her person. She seemed to be her normal self. She did not feel dizzy or weak. With a quiet sigh to herself, she shifted herself to sit up. She could feel a sheen of perspiration instantly form on her face. Her abdomen cramped as her stomach rebelled. She awkwardly threw herself at the privy and just barely made if before spewing her guts out.

xxXxxxXxx

"I do not understand it," Don said, pointing at the monitor. "It is as if she knows the camera is there."

"Aff," Andre concurred. He looked at the indicated monitor, seeing the subject Minh sitting on the bunk. Her face was raised and she appeared to be staring through the monitor at their faces. "How long has she been doing this?"

"Since our last jump," Don answered. "I was watching her to see if she would get sick again. I do not feel anything myself during jumps. I thought she was okay, then she opened her eyes and stared up at the camera."

"You saw this during the jump?"

"Aff," Don confirmed.

"Interesting," Andre remarked. He did not specify which bit of information he was commenting on, Minh's activity or Don's observation.

"Should someone check to see if the camera has been uncovered?" Don asked.

"Neg," Andre shook his head. "It is probably nothing. If we send someone to look at it, her suspicions would be confirmed. It is best if she remains uncertain."

"Aye," Don complied.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was feeling disheartened. There had been a significant number of jumps. After each jump, she was violently sick to her stomach. She tried counting the days between jumps, planning to skip a meal before the event. For some reason, the days varied. Either she fasted too soon or the jump occurred early. She wondered how much longer it would take for her captors to arrive at their destination. She wanted the journey to end. She did not care where she ultimately ended up, as long as the trip was over. Each jump seemed different to her. She did not see the face in the overhead since that one jump, but she felt compelled to look up every once in a while. She knew there had to be a reason she saw it that time. The thought of someone spying on her all the time made her feel creepy.

The day after a jump, Minh was daydreaming. For several weeks, she had taken to making mental escapes. There was only so much physical exercise she could do by herself in the small cell. The soup seemed to provide some nutrition, but she was sure her diet was lacking. She seemed to be hungry all the time. It was not hard to visualize the corn fields of home. On this day, she imagined working in one of the fields, concentrating on picking one ear of corn. She had always wanted to husk an ear, to bite into the raw sweetness. That impulse had always been discouraged. As the owner's daughter, it was her duty to set a proper example. Ever dutiful, she obeyed that restriction. In her mind, she explored the possibility of disobedience. Surely her father would not miss one ear of corn. The stiff husk peels away under her strong fingers. She savored the fresh smell.

Someone was watching her. At first, she thought she had been caught in the act of trying to eat the corn. The door opened unexpectantly between meals and the two men observed Minh's vacant stare. As usual, she sat on the bunk across from the door, her back to the bulkhead. Her legs were folded and crossed with her hands on her thighs.

"The lights are on, but nobody is home."

Minh focused on the new arrivals at her cell door. She did not know which one made the comment.

"Come with us."

Minh stretched her legs off of the bunk and stepped down onto the deck. One of the men turned away and she followed him. The other man fell in behind her. She paid attention as they proceeded to an elevator. She watched as the indicator light rose from the bottom of the passenger section of the diagram to the midsection. The door opened and she was led along a passage to a darkened doorway. They entered, following a bulkhead to another room. This one was lit.

This room reminded Minh of an operating theater. A bank of bright lights was centered in the overhead. A chair stood directly beneath the light. The small group stopped at the chair and she was instructed to sit. The two men withdrew from the room and closed the door. The room was chilly, much more so than her cell. The deck was cold against the soles of her bare feet. The lights above her gave off some warmth. She crossed one leg over the other at the knee, feeling a bit self-conscious. She looked around the empty compartment around her. Apart of brackets and other fittings, the room was bare of equipment. However, there was one detail that she had not seen in months. In front of her was a line of windows running almost from corner to corner. She could not see out, because the room outside was in darkness. The lights over her head created a mirror effect. The windows were low enough for her to see herself from mid-torso upward. She leaned forward to get a better look at herself. Her normally round face seemed pinched and and the light made her look more pale than usual. Her dark eyes squinted in the glare. Her hair had changed her appearance more than she could have imagined. No longer chin length, it almost reached to her shoulders. It was not as neat as it usually was, due to the extra length. It was also parted in the middle, instead of over her left eye. She raised a slender hand and combed it once with her fingers.

xxXxxxXxx

"What is she doing? Can she see us?" Salen asked, watching the small woman lean forward in the chair and peer directly at them.

"Neg, I believe she only sees herself," Andre replied. As if to confirm his assumption, the woman raised one hand and casually ran her fingers through her hair. After a moment, the woman sat back and placed both hands together in her lap, and patiently waited.

"She acted like she had not seen herself in a long while," Stev Ch'in observed. A short man, he had the enlarged cranium that exemplified the genetically engineered Aerospace Pilots.

"She has not," Andre confirmed.

"Well, big guy," Salen turned to Keen. "Since you won your Trial of Refusal, do you really think this tiny thing can become an Elemental?"

Keen looked down at Salen without speaking. Stev laughed.

"You know that Elementals do not do anything unless they believe it can be done," he said. "Especially this Elemental." Salen glared at him, but the darkness robbed her features of any discernible expression. Keen remained silent and returned his attention to the woman in the chair. The woman was sitting still, only her head moving as she looked around the surgical compartment.

"Everyone silent," Andre instructed. Salen looked at him sharply. Of this small group, he had the lowest ranking among them. She bridled at his assumption of power, but kept her tongue.

Andre waited a moment, then pressed a switch on the panel in front of him. In a carefully neutral tone, he spoke.

"What is your name?"

The woman looked up at the window. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came. She cleared her throat painfully, her eyes watering.

"Minh Tran," she said in a sharp voice.

"What is your rank?"

"Gunso," she said curtly.

"What is 'gunso'?" Salen demanded. Andre looked intensely at Salen, demanding her silence with a harsh look.

The woman straightened up, apparently recognizing Salen's voice. She blinked and water from one eye tracked down her cheek.

"Gunso," she repeated with a hint of pride in her voice. "I am gunso."

"What is your unit?"

The woman remained silent. A look of uncertainty appeared on her face.

"What is your unit?"

"I am not required to answer your questions under the articles of the Ares Convention," the woman pronounced carefully. Taking her hands from her lap, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What is your unit?"

The woman did not reply. She turned her head to an oblique angle and did not look at the window. Andre turned the speaker system off.

"She is blocking us out," Andre noted. "Stev, ask her again in Japanese." He switched on the speaker.

Stev stepped up and spoke in a precise manner. The woman tipped her head slightly back and rolled her eyes upward. He repeated himself, but she continued to ignore him.

"Anata wa wakarimasuka?"

Andre turned the speaker back off.

"What was that last phrase?" he asked. "It sounded different from what you said the first two times."

"I asked her if she understood me," Stev explained. "Apparently my pronunciation is still atrocious."

"You think?" Salen recalled the woman's reaction.

Andre ignored Salen. He called to the two men who had brought the woman to sickbay.

"Take her back to her cell," he instructed them. To Stev, he continued. "There is no point to asking her anything more. We will go to the next phase now. It will have to wait for tonight. It will take that long to set up. I would like you to be here for that."

xxXxxxXxx

Minh had recognized the voice from the Japanese speaker. She had understood him, but chose not to respond. She had also recognized the woman's voice. It had sounded as bitter now as it did at the battlefield. She was uncertain if her uncooperative attitude came from hearing the woman or from her sense of duty. She was uncertain about her rights under the Ares Conventions. Was there a provision for her right to remain silent? She hoped that she was correct about her declaration, but she did not really know. She was certain the Draconis Combine was a signatory of that treaty for ethical conduct of warfare. Did these raiders follow them?

The door opened and the men who had escorted her from her cell entered the room. Following their commands, she stood up and accompanied them back to her cell.

xxXxxxXxx

That night, she had just dropped off into slumber when the lights suddenly snapped on. The door opened suddenly. Minh jerked awake in shock as her cell was invaded. She recognized the large man who had escorted her from the DropShip. At least she was sure it was him, with shaven head and bronze skin tone. Adrenaline surged through her and she felt an impulse to flee or fight. Logically, she knew it was hopeless, but that did not stop her from throwing her blanket off in an attempt to evade his advance. She barely managed to sit up when he suddenly backhanded her. Her head whipped around and her body followed. She hit the bulkhead, then the bunk. Her right arm was pinned awkwardly beneath her chest. As she tried to claw her way up with her other arm, she felt a strong hand press between her shoulder blades, holding her down.

"Stick her now," she heard his deep voice command.

"I need to inject this into her arm," another voice protested.

"Never mind that," the giant sounded irritated. "Give me that thing."

"Be careful with that syringe," the other man warned. Minh felt a pain in her left buttock. She cried out in rage and humiliation, helpless to free herself.

"How long will it take?" the giant asked.

"Two or three minutes, maybe more," the other man answered. Minh could feel her grip on the mattress slipping. She released it and tried to push against the bulkhead instead. Her arm wavered and collapsed. "Of course, it could be less."

Minh felt the hand leave her spine and she was rolled over onto her back. Her limbs flopped senselessly. She had no control over her body. For a moment she wondered about that. She could feel the rough blanket against her arms and legs. Her sense of touch was not affected. She was still breathing. She could feel her heart beat in her chest. The giant and the man were visible in her field of vision. The man was familiar to her. He was one of the men who escorted her to the chair earlier that day. The giant reached down and poked her in the belly with one stiff finger. Minh gasped from the momentary discomfort, but she could not move to defend herself.

"That was quick," the other man remarked.

"Get the litter," the giant ordered. He hefted Minh up from the bunk and carried her from the cell. She was lowered to the litter, a human-shaped metal basket. She was strapped down. The litter was picked up and carried by a man at each end. The giant walked alongside, staring at her analytically. She could sense his disapproval. It was as if she were insignificant.

With her attention on the giant, she did not pay her trip any heed. Her mind wandered. When she arrived at their destination, she identified the bank of lights on the overhead. She was back in the chilly room with the dark windows. The two litter bearers paused next to a table and held her steady as other men unstrapped her body and transferred her to the table.

Minh could not turn her head, but her peripheral vision took in the new details of the room. As she was strapped to the table, she realized that the room had been filled with medical equipment. The table had been put in place of the chair that had been there earlier. A machine with tubes and electrical leads was at the head of the table. There was a tray with syringes and sharp implements. People milled around the room. She thought she saw the Japanese speaking man. The dark-haired woman who had accosted her on the day of her capture was there. She leaned over her face and looked contemptuously down at her. She also observed another giant man, this one with dark hair cut in a flat top. She noticed a man wearing a worn, brown leather jacket quietly giving instructions to a man who was clearly a physician. Seeing the fur collar on the jacket, Minh was reminded that the room was very cool. All she wore were her trunks and top. The lights over her provided little warmth. She imagined that she shivered, but she could not tell.

She wondered why she was being tied down, when she had already been chemically immobilized. Straps were cinched over her arms and legs and across her forehead.

_This cannot be real_, she thought, denying what was happening to her. Why were they doing this? She knew nothing that would warrant this level of effort against her. She had been alone for so long and now she was in a crowded room. She felt an irrational desire to beg for leniency, to offer to give them whatever they wanted.

At that moment, she knew it would do no good. They would get what they wanted, the way they wanted. The physician approached the table and began preparing a syringe. Minh sought release from this ordeal. She could do nothing to make them stop. But perhaps she had the power to escape in another venue. Tied to the table, she could not get away. A thought occurred to her and she seized on it like a starving man devours a small morsel. She would return to her home, to her life. She stared up at the lights above her, imagining that they were the sun over her world. She tried to use the chill of the room, letting it become a cool morning. She walked through dew damp grass toward the corn field, stick in hand. Something had been at the corn the previous night and she intended to see if she could discover what it was. No one had ever seen the creature that helped itself to the corn. This morning, she would look for the tracks and try to follow them.

"What is your name?"

The demand startled her. She thought she was alone in the field. The sun seemed to drop down from the sky.

"What is your name?"

The sun changed back into the bank of lights above her. During her daydream, the physician had attached the electrical leads to her body. She was aware of intravenous tubes inserted into her forearm. She knew there was more than one in her, but why?

"Minh Tran," she heard her voice reply. It had taken no effort on her part to speak. Her peripheral sight seemed to have narrowed, giving her tunnel vision. She did not feel like herself and for a moment she believed the ship was jumping again.

"What is your rank?"

"Gunso," she wished he would stop asking questions. It was very distracting. She wanted to see what was going on around her. She recognized the voice from the question session earlier in the day, but she could not see him. Which one of the people in the room was speaking to her? The physician? Probably not. The giant with the flat top? The man with the leather jacket?

"What is your unit?" the interrogator asked.

"Shut up!" she blurted, wishing he would leave her alone.

"SPL blood level?" the voice did not seem as loud. Minh assumed the interrogator was addressing someone else.

"She is at thirtieth percentile," the physician announced. At least, Minh thought it was the physician.

"Thirty! No wonder. Take her up to forty."

"I would not recommend that," the physician objected. "She has next to no chemical resistance. The paralyzer Batiste administered to her took effect almost immediately. Her small body mass cannot take that much."

"Forty percent is relative. Forty percent in a thirty nine kilogram body is less than forty percent in a fifty kilogram body," said the interrogator logically.

"How can I explain this?" the physician tried to argue.

"You do not!" the interrogator snapped back. "Do as you are told. Now."

Minh waited, not knowing what was going to happen. It was just like the first jump. As that thought surfaced in her mind, her senses deceived her once more. The light seemed to increase in intensity. It hurt her eyes and tears welled up. She could feel the wetness track its way down her temples to the top of her ears. At the same time, she could feel acid running in her veins. Her stomach felt sour and she was afraid she would become violently sick. She heard a whimper. It was herself.

"What is your unit?"

"Go-Four of Go Lance," Minh did not realize she had spoken until her voice filled her ears.

"Go is Japanese for five, aff?"

Minh knew it was the Japanese speaker, the translator. She did not know what 'aff' was. For a moment, she was confused. What was the question? She stuttered something, hoping it would be enough to appease the interrogator. The tears on her temples had dried. She could feel the salty residue against her skin and in the corners of her eyes. The salt was sharp, seeming to cut into her.

"What did she say?" the interrogator asked.

"I do not know," the translator sounded mystified.

"It is the SPL blood level," the physician reported. "She cannot handle it."

Minh heard the comment about blood and knew that the salt wounds were leaking her blood. The underside of her jaw began to hurt. Had she been clenching her teeth? The straps holding her down began squeezing her, digging into her arms and legs, crushing her skull.

The interrogator asked her another question. She did not understand him at all. Something was wrong with the table. It was tearing her body apart.

Minh screamed. She begged for release, promising to tell them everything. Her voice rose and fell like a siren as she babbled and ranted.

"What is she saying?" the interrogator demanded.

"It is not Japanese," the translator stated. "It must be her other language."

"Make her shut up," the dark-haired woman ordered.

"It is the SPL level!" the doctor insisted.

"Then lower it!" the interrogator commanded.

A moment of clarity, much like the eye of a hurricane, passed through Minh's mind. The straps confining her down no longer maintained their stranglehold. She took a shuddering breath, then began speaking again, as fast as she could. She gave the statistics of her Domolisher tank. She listed the number of personnel in every vehicle lance.

"That did not work," the dark-haired woman declared.

"Say something to her in Japanese," the interrogator ordered.

Minh barely registered the translator's attempt to get her attention. She desperately wanted to please them. They wanted information. She would tell them everything she knew.

"Shock her out of it," the interrogator said. "Spike her SPL."

"Spike?" the physician repeated.

"Spike her SPL up to forty again, then drop it," the interrogator explained.

Minh was still speaking Vietnamese, quoting the strength and armaments of the infantry platoons, when her brain exploded. The bank of lights over her body seemed to invade her head and fill her mind with a blinding flare. Her limbs strained against their bonds with a savage spasm. Her breath rattled in her throat. She seemed to stop breathing. For a moment, the room was silent.

"Is she dead?" the dark-haired woman asked.

A face appeared over her. It was the man with the leather jacket.

"Minh, can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yes," she responded, her voice rough.

"What language were you speaking?"

"Vietnamese," Minh answered simply.

"How many languages do you speak?"

"Three," she said.

"Vietnamese, Japanese, and English?"

"Yes," Minh acknowledged.

He removed his face from her view. "What are your duties?"

"I was tank commander for Demolisher Go-Four," Minh said.

"How many crew were in your tank?"

"We were two," Minh said.

"Why were there not more?"

"We lacked trained personnel. Brenner and I were proficient enough to operate our tank. He drove and I performed the duties of gunner, loader, and commander."

"Brenner? Who is he?"

"Brenner was go-cho. Before he joined the militia, he was a farmer like myself."

"A farmer! They field farm girls?" the dark-haired woman sounded exasperated.

"There was a farmer long ago who fought with great distinction," the interrogator lectured. "He captured many opponents single-handed. He actually had a background of pacifism. He was a sergeant like her."

Minh heard the sympathetic tone in his voice and thought of her home. While they were distracted from her, she tried to go back there.

"She is blocking us out," the physician reported.

_How could he know that?_ Minh wondered.

"Minh?"

She could hear the familiar rustle of the corn stalks in the wind. She could imagine the patter of rain on the leaves.

"Minh, do we have to go through this again?"

_Again? No, not the acid! Not the pain! Not the illness!_

"No! No! No!" Minh burst out. "No, I am back now!"

"Back?" the interrogator asked.

"Where did she go?" that was the dark-haired woman.

"Where did you go, Minh?" the interrogator asked at the same time as the woman.

"I was home, but I will not do it again," Minh promised.

"Tell me about home," the interrogator probed.

_What have I done now?_ Minh thought in despair. _Please don't let them harm my family!_

"What do you expect to learn about that?" the dark-haired woman demanded.

"Shut up, Salen," the interrogator snarled, obviously annoyed with the interruptions.

"Salen," Minh repeated in a dull voice.

"Do not forget that, little girl," the dark-haired woman said in a nasty tone.

"Minh, how much training did you receive prior to your posting with the militia?"

"No training," Minh confessed. "I joined the militia for an education."

"You did not train to join the militia?" the interrogator's voice was tinged with disbelief.

"I could not get an education at home," Minh explained. "Rural women are not encouraged to make anything of their lives. At least, not in my family."

The interrogator was ready to ask another question when Minh interrupted him in a voice of bitter rage.

"I should have known things were going bad for us when the militia accepted an uneducated peasant like me!"

"Minh, are you through now?" the interrogator admonished her.

"Yes," Minh replied simply, shocked at the intensity of her outburst. Whatever she had been drugged with, it had seriously weakened her inhibitions.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh knew that hours must have passed. She lost track of the questions she had been asked. Eventually, the interrogation ended and she was unstrapped from the table. She was carried back to her cell in the litter that had brought her. The translator accompanied her, watching her carefully. She was weak, her muscles seeming lifeless and her flesh cold. Upon reaching her cell, she was placed on her bunk. The translator pulled the blanket over her chilled body, tucking it around her neck. The men then left her alone to herself once more.

The light remained on, so she assumed that it was daytime now. She did not want to lay back with her face to the light fixture, but she lacked the strength to roll herself over. Although her mind was numbed from her ordeal, she recalled that a woman's strength lay in her lower body. Slowly digging her heels into the bunk, she raised her knees up. Once her legs were bent, she let them fall toward the bulkhead, which caused her body to roll over. Feeble and powerless, she could only move slowly, but eventually she was curled on her side. When her morning soup bulb was delivered, she ignored it. She did not move at all. She just wanted the effects of her drugging to pass. She tried to sleep, managing only fitful slumber before jolting awake in expectation of another visit by the bronze giant. Her mind raced in her waking moments. She remembered Salen. She had been compelled to remember her name. She also recalled the name Batiste, associating it with the bronze giant. The physician, translator, and interrogator had not been addressed by name. The other giant, the one with the flat top, had not spoken. She had not seen much of him, but she knew he had been present through the entire drug torture. She shuddered. What was his interest?

She was aware of the afternoon meal bulb being delivered, but she remembered nothing after that. Exhaustion had pulled her into an almost comatose state.

The next day, she still felt uneasy. Her mind was in fog. She felt no clarity in her thoughts, her logic processes disjointed and random. However, she seemed more sensitive to her emotions. She experienced melancholy and a sense of loss. Regret and shame colored her thinking. In her more lucid moments, she knew in her heart that she had betrayed her home and the Draconis Combine. If her dead comrades had survived, what would they say to her?

When the morning soup bulb was delivered, she attempted to perform her calisthenics. Her movements shaky as she positioned herself on the bunk for push ups. In her attempt to raise her body up with her arms, she failed. She was too weak to lift herself up past her wrists. With a small sigh, she shifted herself off of the bunk and sat on the floor. Bracing her legs beneath the basin, she tried to do sit ups. Her stomach muscles tightened, but her back did not leave the deck. She stared up at the ceiling, her face becoming damp with perspiration from her fruitless effort. Finally, she gave up, having only developed a tension headache for her effort. She made a comment, one she had heard her father make long ago. It wasn't very nice. For a moment, she felt shocked that she would have said such a thing. She hoped no one was listening to her. She had her suspicions that there were recording devices in her cell. Then she realized that there was probably no one within light years of her that could understand Vietnamese.

She gave a bark of laughter, surprising herself. Somewhere deep inside, she felt a release of tension. She laughed again, longer and harder. It had been a long time since she had laughed. She did not stop, becoming breathless as her eyes watered. Her ribs began hurting. Then her mood changed, the laughs becoming choking sobs. Her slight figure shook with the wracking emotion. A part of her realized that she was suffering from chemical imbalance. The mind-influencing drugs were still in control of her body.

Finally, emotionally spent, she picked herself up from the cold deck. Sitting on the bunk, she picked up the soup bulb. With shaking hands, she brought it up and drank from it.

xxXxxxXxx

Three days had passed. When turning in for the evening, Minh had began laying on her side, her back to the bulkhead. The fear of another visit by the bronze giant Batiste was affecting her sleep. She would wake suddenly in the darkness several times a night.

The light suddenly came on. Batiste entered the cell as suddenly as the first time. Minh jumped to wakefulness, the blanket making a momentary rustling sound. As Batiste bent over her, she remained still, her eyes locked on his face. She tried not to flinch as he drew the blanket from one arm. Another man approached her, one she recognized as one of the litter carriers from the other night. Bearing a syringe, he administered the paralyzing drug into her upper arm.

"She has next to no resistance," he remarked as Minh sagged where she lay, the chemical taking effect almost immediately.

The interrogation that followed proceeded without any defiance on the part of Minh. The questioning centered more on her civilian life than that when she was in the militia. Of the group involved in her interrogation, Salen was the only one absent. Like before, it was morning when she was returned to her cell.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh sat on the bunk, facing the door with her legs folded as usual. It had been three days since her second drug interrogation. The aftereffects to her had not been as extreme as the first time. The foggy feeling in her head and the sluggishness in her body disappeared within a day, but she had no motivation. She had not performed any exercises for days. She had stopped daydreaming. Each time she thought of home, she was reminded of the interrogation. There truly was no escape for her now.

The door opened. Minh expected it was time for the morning meal bulb. Instead, two men waited outside her cell. Batiste was not there.

"Come with us," one of the men instructed her. She stretched forward and stood on the deck. She went with them, not surprised to be led back to the interrogation room. The outer room was darkened again, so she could not see out through the windows. The room had been cleared of the table and other equipment. The only item in the room was the chair beneath the light bank. Without being prompted, she sat down in it. The men closed closed the door, leaving her alone.

Minh sat with her feet together. Her hands gripped the armrests. She stared straight ahead, feeling self-conscious.

xxXxxxXxx

Andre, Keen, and Stev Ch'in observed the woman in the chair. To Stev, she appeared careworn from her ordeal. Her dark eyes had taken on a haunted look, hollow in shadow. The cheek structure of her facial features seemed even more pronounced than before. She maintained a rigid posture.

Andre had asked Stev to conduct this interrogation in Japanese. In the first session in the chair, she was not receptive to conversation in that language. He wanted to find out if she would be more cooperative now.

Stev switched on the speaker and addressed the woman. She cocked her head to the side, like a bird.

"Nani?" she responded. She waited a moment, then leaned forward in her chair. With her face over her knees, she spoke in a breathless voice. "Kurikaeshite-kudasai."

"What did she say?" Andre had switched the speaker off.

"She asked me to repeat myself. I wish I sounded as smooth as she does," Stev said. "I think she will stay bowed down like that until I answer."

"Never mind," Andre said. "I have seen what I need to. Keen?"

The two men turned to regard the Elemental. He studied the woman.

"I need to see more," he said. "Not here. Not now."

"Very well," Andre said. "Stev, tell her we are through with her."

Stev relayed the message in Japanese. The woman sat up, a puzzled look on her face. At first, he thought she did not understand him. There was no mistaking the confusion on her face. He was about to repeat himself when she bowed again.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu." Thank you very much.

Tran Family Farm, Demeter

Across the border from the Free Rasalhague Republic, Draconis Combine

02 December 3050

The warm sky was partially overcast, the soaring white clouds providing alternating shade as they moved by. The field workers had gathered in front of the Tran family home. Word was received that the truck had gone to pick up the elder Tran from the train station. He had been gone for over a month, to search for his daughter. Rumors had sprouted like bad weeds, taking root with ease despite being unwanted. There were tales of massacres and raiding. One unpopular story declared that the planet no longer belonged to the Draconis Combine. Unable to contact military authority, Dinh, the elder Tran sought to find his own answers.

Huy, the younger Tran sibling, sat on the porch steps. Like many of the field workers, he wore a ball cap and work clothes. The field in front of the house was due to be rotated for the next two seasons. He had been helping with the clearing. At seventeen years of age, he possessed a wiry strength which would only increase as his growth spurt continued. His dark hair was shaggy in length, keeping with the style of the other young men his age. He waited with dreaded impatience, wanting to know his sister's fate, yet afraid to learn it.

The truck had departed for the train station about an hour before. It was due anytime. The train was the main transportation from the farming region to the airport and harbor facility. It ran on old-fashioned steel tracks, laid in kilometer-length rails. The locomotive was powered by overhead electric wires that were fed by hydro-electricity. Anyone wishing to leave the planet had to leave the region to one of four spaceports on the planet.

A cloud of dust announced the imminent arrival of the truck. The vehicle was normally used for grocery and crop runs to and from town. Powered by a diesel engine, it was well-maintained and reliable. Huy heard the screen door open behind him. Without looking, he knew it was his mother, Xuyen. She approached the railing on the porch and stood with her hands on it. The truck wheeled in front of the house and stopped.

Huy was on his feet before he realized it. He watched his father get out of the truck and pull his suitcase from the back. There was something about his father, something different. Approaching him, he reached for the suitcase. His father handed it over thankfully, as if it had been a burden. That was when he realized that his father looked old, emaciated from the weight of his worry and fear for his daughter.

He followed his father to the porch. Instead of climbing the stairs, he stopped in front of his wife and looked up at her. He did not say a word, but he passed a look, a look of pain in his eyes. Huy's mother gripped the railing tightly. She lowered her face and closed her eyes. Tears filled her lashes and dripped to the porch railing.

Dinh turned and looked at Huy, seeing him and at the same time seeing his sister. Huy was taller than her, resembling her only generally. A moment passed, then Dinh looked towards the workers. He gestured to the foreman and the two men bowed to each other.

"I want to thank everyone for their support," he said. "Give them the rest of the day off." Just as quickly, he countermanded his instruction. "No, take the next two days off, too. There is nothing so pressing that cannot wait. They should have the opportunity to spend time with their families and appreciate what they have here." Dinh looked at Huy. "That is what I am going to do."

"Yes, it will be done as you wish, sir," the foreman bowed. He did not leave right away. It was apparent that he was uneasy. "Ong Tran, if I may ask, could you give us news?"

"Yes, of course," Dinh walked to the truck. With assistance from the foreman, he sat on the high flat bed, his feet dangling over the ground. He waved his hand for the workers to gather in front of him. Huy joined them. From his elevated perch, Dinh had an unobstructed view of each worker.

He described his tale from the beginning, explaining that communication with Provost was impossible once fighting had broken out. He had been unable to contact any militia or military headquarters. He set out to see for himself what had happened to his daughter. Arriving at the airport, he discovered that air travel had been curtailed until further notice. The harbor was a different story. Refugees had arrived there and he was able to ride a container freighter that was returning for another load of escapees.

By the time he reached the other port, the panic was over. The battle had lasted no longer than a day. The raiders had set up camp at the space port and their warriors were roaming the city freely. There was no sign of looting or other atrocities against the civilian population. The BattleMechs that had been posted to defend the space port had been annihilated to the last man. While he had been wandering the city and asking questions, he had been apprehended and imprisoned for a week. His captors claimed to be from the Wolf Clan. They were suspicious of his activity but were gradually satisfied with his story. They eventually released him. Travel to Provost proved a bit difficult. There was no train or bus. Travel by private vehicle was discouraged, but he was determined to get his answers. Packing what food he could find into his suitcase, he walked for days. The weather was miserable. His raincoat leaked and his food became soggy. Eventually, he reached Provost, a small agricultural town, just as the Wolf Clanners were leaving. He spoke to the locals, learning that the militia company had deployed to the hills where it had been destroyed. No one saw any survivors or prisoners. During his questioning, some farmers had gone to the militia base and returned with a militia man, the company clerk. The soldier had been in hiding ever since the attack. He had been ordered to fire the base, but had been prevented from doing so by the arrival of armored jump infantry. However, he had managed to purge the computer database. He had also hidden the company records. It included the pay records and combat assignments for the entire company. Being the only one left at the base, he slipped out unobserved and hid, posing as a farmer during later days. Once the enemy had left, he returned to the base to see what was left. The records of the company had not been discovered. It took some pursuasion to get the man to answer his questions. His Minh, his little Minh had been promoted to gunso and assigned as tank commander. Armed with this information, he trekked up to the hills to find the battlefield. Following the road, he found it easily. Burned out vehicles lay shattered where they had been destroyed. He encountered a row of graves, many of them marked with the names of strangers. A few were unmarked. Digging in the muddy mounds by hand, he looked at each unlabeled body. He did not find his daughter there. He looked for the tanks, knowing there had been only four according to the roster. He had found three fire blackened hulks, still reeking of burnt diesel fuel. He forced himself to climb into the armored coffins, to see if he could find any sign of the crews. In the dark interiors, he located more bodies.

Dinh paused, his eyes squeezed shut as he relived the horror. He shuddered, recounting his failure to determine the gender, much less the identity of the doomed crews. Burned beyond any recognition he could make, he left them where they perished. Of the fourth tank, he only found fragments of armor and track. He walked all around the area, trying to follow the boot prints in the mud. He assumed they were made by the troops salvaging the savaged machinery. He discovered giant footprints, marveling as well as cursing the machine that made them.

He had left the battlefield with a heavy heart, knowing his quest was horribly incomplete. Somewhere his daughter lay dead and he could not find her body.

Dinh stopped talking. Throughout his story, his voice gradually lowered in volume. As he described the horrors he had seen, he only uttered them in whispers. The workers listened patiently, the dismay evident in their faces. He stared at them, not seeing them, but reviewing the recent past. In small groups, in pairs and individually, the workers turned away with downcast eyes and departed. Respecting the family's privacy and grief, they said nothing. Some openly wept themselves, having worked with Minh Tran. It was such a miserable demise for someone they shared an admiration for.

Xuyen had come to the truck unnoticed. As he looked at her, he recalled that Minh had wanted more for her life than they had been willing to permit her. She had not been satisfied with tradition. His wife was an example of that. Her own father had arranged for her to be given to him in marriage. She had seen the settlement between their two families as her duty. With their families united, their business partnership had been established. The distillers and the farmers. In time, she saw Dinh as the loving and caring man he was.

Minh wanted to have none of that lifestyle. She wanted an opportunity to improve herself, to experience new things. Dinh attributed her desires to that of impetuous youth. He ignored what she wanted, thinking she would grow out of it and see things his way.

"The company clerk looked me up before I left Provost," Dinh said. "He was the company photographer. He had some pictures of Minh, one from the last day. His company commander wanted him to make a visual record. He gave me copies on a card. I haven't been able to view them yet."

His voice shook and he stopped talking. He looked away, his composure close to breaking. His breathing seemed ragged for a moment, but he regained control with slow even breaths. As if finding the words in the distance, he continued to speak.

"I stopped to see the Nguyens on the way home," he said softly. The Nguyen orchards were just over the hill from the Tran fields. "With the military wiped out, there was no one left to notify them, neither."

"Poor Tai," Huy murmured. He was not so lost in his misery to realize that his betrothed had lost her brother, a BattleMech pilot. Unlike Minh, he had no negative feelings toward arranged marriages. Of course, his lot in life as a man would be better than a woman's. Dinh felt guilty, thinking that if he had provided for Minh's happiness, she would be alive now.

"I will be eighteen in three months," Huy announced in the lull of silence. His mother stared at him in apprehension, knowing what he was going to say. Her daughter had made the same statement.

"No, you cannot!" Xuyen said quickly. "The militia is gone. It won't help anything. It won't bring Minh back."

"I do not intend to join the militia," Huy said reasonably. His rational tone scared his mother much more than an insensible ranting would have. "The militia only serves in defense. The DCMS will be going on the offensive. I don't want to wait for the enemy to hit us again, to destroy our families one member at a time. I want to take the fight to them. I want them to pay for what they have done. I want them to learn that they cannot do this and get away with it."

Huy hoped that his parents would not remember that Tai's brother had not been militia, but a soldier in the DCMS. The DCMS was not invulnerable. That was one argument he did not want used against him.

"The Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery?" Dinh pronounced every syllable carefully. "Perhaps I can get you into the academy." He ignored his wife's reproachful glare. "I do not know where it is or what it is called, but I can see what I can do to get you accepted."

"That would take years, Pop," Huy said. "I don't think there will be enough time."

"Officers have more influence in combat situations than enlisted men," Dinh said. "You will have a better opportunity to pay the enemy back for what they have done to us."

"What about Tai?" Xuyen demanded. "What about business college?"

Dinh looked at his wife. Huy made a dismissive gesture.

"Tai is only fourteen years old," Huy said. "There will be time for us to get married when I come back. The same goes for college. If the enemy wins, there could be no business to go to college for."

"Do you really want to put her through this again?" Xuyen asked. Without actually saying so, she was asking if he wanted to put her and Dinh through this nightmare again.

"I don't want anyone to go through this nightmare," Huy said.

"At least let me use my influence to help you in the DCMS," Dinh offered.

Huy nodded in agreement. They are silent for a moment, then his mother stepped up to him and put her arms around him.

"What?" Huy sounded bewildered. She had not hugged him since he was a small child.

"I wish I had hugged Minh before she left us," his mother's voice was muffled against his shoulder. "I never said goodbye to her when she left. Now it is too late. At least I still have you, my son. Please don't do this thing."

Huy hugged his mother back, agonizing over his decision. She did not want to lose her surviving child, but he was determined to go.


	3. Chapter 2

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Two by D G Palmer

Wolf Clan JumpShip Trailblaze

en route to Clan Wolf occupied space

30 November 3050

Minh Tran was disoriented. Until a few minutes ago, she had been a prisoner in solitary confinement. Her only contact with other individuals was when her meals were brought to her. No one tried to engage her in conversation, not that she had encouraged it. For many weeks her world consisted of two tiny rooms, one on a DropShip and one on this JumpShip. Then, in the last few days, she had been subjected to intensive interrogation. Despite her captivity, she had previously thought of herself as self-reliant and strong. She now seemed to feel that she had barely survived her recent experience. Her confidence was severely shaken and she doubted her own resolve.

She was walking with another woman. Like herself, the woman was clad in a jumpsuit and wore a white cord on her right wrist. Unlike Minh, the woman wore boots. Minh was barefooted. She had not worn any footwear since her capture. The woman had come to the interrogation chamber and instructed Minh to accompany her.

The final interrogation had been confusing. Her questioner had spoken to her in poorly pronounced Japanese. She knew it had been the translator, the short Asiatic man with an oddly shaped head. She could not see him, because he was on the other side of windows concealed by darkness. She had been asked only one question, but she could not understand it. She asked him to repeat himself. In place of the question, she had been informed that the session was over and that they were through with her. She sat in the chair and waited for the guards to return her to her cell. Instead of the guards, it was this woman who had come for her. Once they were in the passage, it was obvious that the two women were going someplace other than the cell.

Minh was self-consciously aware of her own appearance. Her black hair touched her shoulders. It had never been that long and it bothered her. Her almond-shaped eyes, straw-colored skin, and slender build was different from the people she saw around her on the ship. She was as aware of her own attractiveness as she was of her Asian heritage. Her ancestors were originally from Vietnam on the Terran home world. These other people were taller than her, much taller. At fifty-eight centimeters, she was shorter than most. The woman beside her outweighed her thirty-nine kilograms. Probably more now, since she knew she had lost weight. She had felt the edge of hunger all the time. The other woman looked well fed, like the other people on the ship. In addition to the 'normal' men and women she saw, there were those who were of giant size. The giants were new to her. Exceeding two meters in height, they were literally columns of moving muscle. At the other end of the spectrum were people her size, but with slightly enlarged craniums. Minh assumed the small people were extra-intelligent, judging by her encounters with the translator. It was only a suspicion, since she did not know. In fact, she knew next to nothing about these strangers.

They took an elevator to another deck, where the woman led her to a living area. Minh immediately noticed a difference in the air. Every place she had been so far had a clinical smell, if anything. In this part of the ship, she could smell people. Unwashed people. They arrived at a door and the woman preceded Minh through it. Minh looked back where she had come. A woman stepped out of the elevator. A familiar dark-haired woman. Salen? A giant was with her, the one with the dark hair cut in a flat top.

"Come in!" the woman called to Minh. She stepped into the room, immediately making a face from the smell. It was a small bunk room, with at least two dozen bunks in stacks of two. There were less women than there were bunks in the room. Minh stood beside her escort as the other women regarded her.

"Thought you would get out of your work assignment?" a tall, heavyset woman said with false sweetness to the woman. "Well, Katya, it didn't work. We waited just for you. And your little friend." The woman turned her attention to Minh. "Yes, deary, you can wipe that dirty look off of your face. You're no better than the rest of us." She raised her right wrist to display the white cord on it. "You are just like us, Bondswoman."

Minh had never heard of the term 'bondswoman' before, but she resented being addressed in such a supercilious tone. Her dark eyes narrowed as she felt the contempt build. The woman saw her expression and she looked eager. She took a step forward, squaring her shoulders like a man as she did so.

"Vera, no!"

"Shut up, Katya!" Vera seemed to snarl. "Missy needs to learn who's boss. C'mon, Doll, it won't hurt. Much." She uttered a nasty laugh.

Minh fingered the white cord on her wrist. She had not tried to remove it since it had been tied there weeks ago. It had seemed a part of her and she had ignored it for the most part. However, the thought that it made an unwashed bully like Vera her equal was repugnant. She pulled at the rope, tugging it over her folded palm. It was a tight fit, but she managed to pull her hand free.

"What are you doing?"

Minh was startled by the shouted demand. Vera paused in her advance, then drew back. There was fear in her eyes. Determined not to behave in the same manner, she turned casually to the door. Salen stood there, hands on hips, her expression fierce with anger. Behind her stood the giant, the one she had never heard speak. His expression was neutral, like he was studying her.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Salen caught her attention again. "Put that cord back on!"

Minh took a deep breath, instantly regretting it because of the smell of the room. Didn't these women bathe?

She let the cord slip from nerveless fingers. She did not realize it had actually fallen until someone gasped. It might have been Katya, but she was not sure. Minh expected a shout of outrage from Salen for the defiant act.

Salen pursed her lips thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. Turning her head, she said something to someone outside the door, someone Minh could not see. Then she faced Minh.

"Take off your jumpsuit," she instructed in a calm, no-nonsense manner.

"Please," Katya piped up. "She didn't mean it. She's new here. She didn't know."

"She will learn," Salen replied.

"Learn her good," Vera threw in her comment. "She was giving us nothing but trouble before you came in."

A look of distaste crossed Salen's features.

"Shut up!" she ordered.

Minh stood for a moment. She considered refusing Salen's command. She knew it would do her no good. The giant in the passage could overpower her easily. Without responding, she unzipped the coverall and slipped it off.

"Your top, too," Salen directed.

Minh complied, wondering what was going to happen to her. With her chin up, she put forward a brave front. No matter what happened, she would display nothing that would betray her honor. An odd expression, she thought, realizing that she was displaying her modest figure for all to see. Dropping her top to the floor, she stood in her trunks and waited. It did not take long before someone handed Salen a metallic coil.

"Turn around," Salen ordered Minh. She pointed to Vera and Katya. "Hold her arms."

"Shouldn't we tie her to a bunk?" Vera asked cautiously. Minh stood with her arms outstretched, the women standing well clear of her. Katya was on Minh's left and Vera held her right arm.

"There is more room here," Salen said. "Now shut up and do not let her go."

Minh waited, almost feeling her skin crawl as she imagined what was about to be inflicted on her. She heard a whispering noise, then a slap as the end of the metal cable hit the deck. She suspected that she was about to be whipped. The sound she had heard was the whip being uncoiled.

"Everyone watch. This is the price of disobedience," Salen declared. The women stood in front and to the sides of Minh. Many were wide-eyed, seeing what she could not. She tried to shut them out, staring past them to the bunk beyond them. She could not help seeing the women cringe just before the lash struck her. It landed on the right side of her back, the end curling over her shoulder and slapping her breast.

Her body convulsed, her muscles contracting beyond her control. She could not hold back the loud gasp of pain. Katya stumbled, almost losing her grip on Minh.

"Hold on to her!" Vera tightened her grip as well.

"I'm trying!" Katya declared petulantly.

Minh did not know what she had been struck with. She had never heard of, much less imagined, the electro-lash. She stood shaking, her skin becoming clammy as her body reacted to the painful stimulation.

She was struck again, the lash going over her other shoulder. She tried to pull away, a caustic scream tearing at her vocal cords. In her agony, she was not aware of the tears coursing down her face. Pain and rage intermingled as she caught her breath, hanging between the two women. She turned her head to the left and shouted in Vietnamese. She saw that the giant had entered the room and was watching her from the side. He had an unobstructed view of the whipping and was not in danger of catching a backlash. At that moment, the lash landed on her right side again, but curling around her neck. Her nerves pulsed with fire. The energy from the whip imparted a momentary jolt of power to Minh.

"Hold her!" Vera yelled over Minh's tortured cry. Minh pulled at Katya, who stumbled toward her. Minh kicked over at her, forcing Katya to release her arm. "You idiot! Get her!"

Minh stumbled back blindly as the lash flew past her left shoulder. Instinctively, she caught it. Gripping it tightly, she flailed her arm around, wrapping the cable around her forearm to keep from losing it.

Minh snarled at Salen to stop whipping her as Katya approached her. Minh turned to her and snapped at her to keep her distance. It did not occur to her that she was speaking Vietnamese. However, it was her fierce tone that drove Katya away.

"Release it," Salen ordered in a level voice.

Minh did not respond. She wanted to pull the whip way from Salen, but realized she lacked the strength to do so. It would not take much for them to pry the whip from her, but she did not want to be hit anymore. She could feel the three welts on her body pulsate with pain. She locked eyes with Salen, hoping that they had reached stalemate. The thought of the whip striking her tender flesh was enough for her to remain intransigent.

"Okay, we will do this your way," Salen showed no pleasure, only resignation. "You asked for it." Using her thumb, she moved a control on the handle of the whip. Minh's arm was suddenly wrapped in the molten flame of pain. Vera's grip suddenly increased on Minh's other arm. The energy from the whip had contracted her muscles as well.

"Let go!" Vera shrieked. She was unable to release Minh.

Minh could not let go if she wanted to. Her burning hand was compelled to hold tight. Even if she could release the lash, it was still taut around her arm. She was barely aware of the bystanders around them, faces captivated by the horror before them. Only the giant seem unaffected. Unaccountably, it was to him that Minh directed her screams and threats. Salen no longer mattered. Salen would do whatever she wanted, so she was inconsequential. The impassive giant was all that mattered to Minh in her unreasonable dementia.

The giant did not react to her berserk screeches. Behind her, Vera was kicking at her, still trying to get free. Then she knew no more.

xxXxxxXxx

"What were you doing to her?"

As Minh heard the voice, she felt as if she were waking from a very bad dream. Coming from directly above her, she realized she had never heard it before. She could feel a cool jell being applied to her arm. There was a momentary sting, as if from scalding liquid before it subsided. The jell apparently had anesthetic properties. Her back, chest, and neck throbbed with a dull pain.

"The little fool would not let go of the lash," there was no mistaking that voice. It was Salen.

"How could she let go? I can see from here you had it tied around her arm."

"It was not tied. She did that herself," Salen defended herself, exasperated.

"Why would she do that?"

"To stop me from disciplining her," Salen said in a common sense tone. "Who are you to question me? You are just a tech."

"I am a doctor," the voice above Minh explained. "When one of you people are brought into this compartment, it becomes my business."

"That little thing is not 'one of us'!" Salen snapped. "I do not care what you are. You are freeborn, worthy only to serve us!"

"In this compartment, I am khan!" the doctor replied with steel in his voice. "Challenge me in here and I promise you that you will suffer for it."

"How dare-!"

"You do not take just any tech and make him a doctor, you arrogant MechWarrior!" the doctor interrupted her. "That is how I dare. All I have to do is find a disease in my patient here, something contagious, and I lock up everyone of you that has been in contact with her."

"No one would believe you," Salen said. "You would have no proof."

"I am a doctor. I can get the proof," the doctor said. "Try me and see."

Salen was silent. Minh felt the hands place a wrapping around the jell on her arm. Thinking the MechWarrior had departed, she opened her eyes.

Minh lay on her stomach. She could feel a sheet covering her from the hips down. Her face was turned away from her burned arm. Before her was her tormenter, Salen. The dark-haired woman looked down at her, regarding her for several moments. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a white loop of cord. The cord that Minh had removed. She approached Minh and picked up her bare arm. With less effort than Minh had used to remove it, Salen put it back onto her wrist.

"Do not take off your bond cord," she commanded. "Quaff?"

Minh said nothing, her dark eyes expressionless.

"Do you understand?"

Minh gave a little nod. Bending down, Salen gripped her chin firmly, looking into her face meaningfully.

"The proper response is 'aff'," Salen said, not raising her voice but managing to convey a commanding tone.

"Aff," Minh obeyed.

Salen held her face for an instant longer, then released her. She straightened up.

"I will remember your words, 'Khan'," she said derisively to the doctor. She turned and walked out of the compartment.

Minh could still feel Salen's grip on her face. She heard the doctor sigh as he finished wrapping her arm. Gentle hands pulled the light sheet up to her bare shoulders. A moment later, she saw him as he came around the bed and crouched down in front of her. He was middle-aged, his brown hair dusted with a hint of gray.

"You had a rough time, it seems," he said. "You will be all right. Your arm has first and second degree burns from the electro-lash. There are three marks on your torso. They will disappear in a few days."

"Thank you, Doctor," Minh said as he paused.

"Just 'Doc'," he corrected her. "And what do I call you?"

"I am Minh Tran," she responded.

"Mintran?" Doc repeated.

"No. Minh Tran," she pronounced her name carefully. "They are two names."

Doc shook his head. He tapped her arm, the one with the bond cord.

"You really are new," he commented. "There are some things you have to know if you are going to survive here with us. Has not anyone briefed you?"

"Salen taught me 'aff'," Minh stated. "No one else has instructed me."

"I see," Doc shook his head again. "First of all, do not take off your bond cord. As Salen's bondswoman, you belong to her. By her right, she could have killed you."

"Bondswoman. You mean slave," Minh found the concept objectionable.

"You are bonded to the Wolf Clan," Doc explained, sounding as if there was a difference. "You are not the person you were before. You are now Minh. There is no Tran." Minh stared at him, dark eyes narrowed in doubt.

"It is like this," Doc went on. "There are only a select few who have a bloodname. Only trueborn warriors are entitled to bloodnames. For every bloodname, there are only twenty-five bearers."

"Bloodnames," Minh ran the term over her tongue.

"'Blood' refers to the genetic line of the warrior," Doc explained. "As freeborn, you have no recognized genetic line. You are not entitled to a bloodname. Quaff?"

Minh gave him a blank look. Doc shook his head again.

"How long have you been with us?"

"I do not know," Minh admitted. "I lost track of the days on the DropShip."

"You docked with us a month ago!" Doc sounded exasperated. "No one has talked to you in all that time?"

Minh almost smiled, unsure of what he wanted to know from her. It was purely a reaction from the stress she had undergone.

"Do you know what 'quaff' means?" Doc asked.

"Question aff?" Minh guessed.

"That is pretty good," Doc smiled in encouragement. "You ask that if you are looking for an affirmative answer to your query."

"Quano seeks a negative answer," Minh said after thinking a moment.

"Quineg," Doc corrected her. "You ask that if you expect to get 'neg' as a response."

"Aff," Minh responded. At that moment, her stomach made a growling noise. Doc looked at her sharply, making her feel self-conscious.

"Have you eaten today?" he asked.

"Neg," Minh said, her head still busy with the new expressions.

"From the looks of your ribs, you have not eaten for a while," Doc cast his eyes down her sheet-shrouded body.

"Soup," Minh said helpfully.

"Soup, she says," Doc sputtered as he rose up. "Let me send for some real food." As he walked away, Minh decided that she liked the man called Doc.

xxXxxxXxx

After spending the night in sickbay, Minh was returned to the bunk room. One sleeve of her coverall was bulky from the bandage on her arm. The only other sign that anything had happened to Minh was the red welt across her neck. She did not expect a warm welcome and was not surprised to see that the women kept their distance from her. She had arrived just as Vera finished passing out work assignments.

"Well, well, look who's back," she said maliciously. "Since you don't like being in here, you little pris, I saved you the best job. You can clean this place up."

"Vera! She can't do this place by herself," Katya objected.

"You don't like it? You can help her, then," Vera ordered. "It better be spotless or you will answer to me."

The women filed out of the bunk room, leaving Minh and Katya to their task. Without another word, Katya led Minh to the cleaning supplies. Wiping down the bulkheads and scrubbing the decks would not remove the smell from the space. The bedding needed to be changed, or at least washed and dried. While Katya washed the bulkheads, Minh removed the thin mattresses from the bunks and wrestled them out to the passageway to air. By the time Minh was through, her skin shined with the sheen of sweat. Katya had begun washing the bunks where the mattresses had lay. She directed Minh to where she could take the sheets to be washed. Using one sheet as an improvised sack, bundled about half of the sheets into it. That was all that would fit. She saw it would take her two trips. She carried the bedding to the laundry.

The bondsman at the laundry was irritated that Minh did not know that she was supposed to follow a schedule. It was not enough she did not know what her bunk room was. Didn't she know that she was supposed to bring the bedding in a laundry bag?

Minh looked at him, her expression intractable. She was instructed to bring the sheets back when she was supposed to. Her arms tired, she dropped the sheets to the deck.

"These are filthy and unhealthy," Minh said. "Wash them or not, I do not care." She turned around and left the laundry.

"Come back here!" the bondsman demanded. "You can't leave this here." Another bondsman joined him. He wore a beard.

"What is going on here?" he asked, looking at Minh and the sheets lying on the deck.

"She's crazy!" the bondsman declared.

"I have been tasked with cleaning my bunk room," Minh explained. "These are unclean."

"No kidding. I can smell them from here," the bearded man said. "Let me guess. You are from Vera's bunk room."

Minh nodded.

"Those dirt bags," he said. "I feel for you. I really do. But there is nothing we can do for you today. They rarely send the laundry down at all."

Minh could believe that. The odor from the sheets was potent.

"You are not on the schedule for three more days. I have two washers out of order and we are packed to capacity," the man continued. "All I can suggest is that you wash them yourself. Or you can wait. That's a lot of sheets to wash yourself."

Minh looked down at the bundle. She knew there was little chance she could wash the sheets in time. She was sure there was no place to hang them to dry. She succumbed to the inevitable. Bowing to the two men, she thanked them for their courtesy, then she picked the sheets up and returned to the bunk room. She was heartily sick of the foul aroma as she was from the dirty looks from the other people she passed.

"I didn't think they would take it," Katya admitted when Minh explained what had happened. The urge to take Katya's wash bucket and dump it over her head was compelling. Instead, she left the blankets in a pile in the passage and helped wash the bunks. By midday, Katya had been about to show Minh where to go to eat when the women filtered into the bunk room. They were unhappy they did not have a place to rest during lunch. Vera pounded on one of the bunks in a fit of temper.

"Put the beds back together!" she shouted. "They were neat when we left."

"They were not made," Minh argued. "The sheets stink! I will not put them back on."

"She's right," one of the women behind Minh remarked. "I can live without sheets for a while."

Vera's face turned red with rage. She clenched her fists, the urge to kill clearly evident in her manner. She looked around. The women close to her edged away, not wanting to remain within her reach. Her eyes alighted on the cleaning bucket on the deck. With one swift kick, the bucket flew through the bunk room and hit the bulkhead, water splashing the entire length of travel.

Katya gripped Minh by the hand and quickly dragged her out of compartment.

xxXxxxXxx

Lunch was more satisfying than the soup that Minh had been consuming for the two months of her confinement. Minh assumed that the vegetables were grown on the JumpShip. She was sure that the meat was imitation, a product of soybeans. It was a pleasure for her to be able to chew again. After they ate, they returned to the bunk room. The women were gone. Apart from the mess Vera made, there was not much left to do. They scrubbed the deck and tried to clean above the pipes and ducting in the overhead that they could reach.

Minh had located the laundry bin in the back of the compartment. There were two laundry bags in it, both overflowing with coveralls, tops, and trunks. The smell of mildew was overpowering.

By the time the women returned before dinner, Minh and Katya had replaced the mattresses in the bunks. The sheets had been stuffed in the laundry bin, there being no other place to put them. Vera walked around the room, running a grubby finger over various surfaces. In so doing, she put down more dirt than she was trying to pick up.

Determining the room satisfactory, she assigned Minh to a lower bunk in one corner of the compartment. Some of the women snickered. Already suspicious, Minh's caution piqued. Having been through the compartment, she did not understand the reason for their levity. There was nothing wrong that she could see.

During the course of the day, Minh had located the centralized bathing area for their deck. Before laying down for the evening, she went there to wash herself. The area was open bathing for both genders, a concept she was well familiar with. In the Draconis Combine, bath houses were very common.

Along one bulkhead, there were a row of mirrors. In front of them was a row of benches. The other bulkhead was lined with shower columns. There were six shower heads per column. Towels were provided in an open bin by the door she had entered. In the washing area, she found liquid soap dispensers attached to the shower columns.

She undressed completely, examining her clothes once she had done so. She seemed to weigh each article before setting her top and trunks on the bench with her towel. She took her coveralls with her to the shower column.

Taking care to keep her bandage out of the spray of water, she soaked the coveralls, then wrung the water out. Getting some of the soap from the dispenser, she rubbed it into the fabric and scrubbed the cloth against itself, creating a lather. She added soap periodically until she had scrubbed the entire garment. Then she rinsed and wrung it out repeatedly to get the soap out of it. Afterwards, she set the coveralls on the bench and washed herself. She luxuriated beneath the warm spray. After the cold bird baths she had to take in confinement, not even having to keep her bandage dry detracted from her enjoyment.

Minh had ignored the other bondsmen while she washed, knowing that cleaning her clothes in the shower was unusual. As she dried herself, she noticed a bondsman looking at her as he dressed himself. She returned his gaze, then recognized him. It was the bearded bondsman from the laundry. There was respect in his regard as he nodded greeting at her. She nodded back, then put the towel to her hair to dry it. After a vigorous rubbing, she lowered the towel and found the man standing close to her.

"You didn't try to wash all those sheets, did you?" he asked. He was looking at her damp coveralls.

"Neg," Minh responded, shaking her head.

"Tell you what," he said. "I think I can fit in some of your sheets tomorrow. The amount you carried today. If I'm not around, tell them Colin sent you."

"Thank you," Minh replied.

"Better yet, tell me your name," Colin said. "That way you will be expected."

"My name is Minh," she said.

"Pleased to meet you," Colin offered his hand and Minh took it.

xxXxxxXxx

Dressed in her top and trunks, Minh carried her coveralls back to the bunk room. The room was dark, lit only by red lighting. The garish lights cast next to no light into the bunks, so Minh could not determine who lay within. She arrived at her bunk and lay her damp coveralls across the foot of it. She crawled in and lay down with her back to the bulkhead. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, but she could see no sign of treachery. She felt a shiver, knowing that she could not stay awake and on guard all night.

"Move over, Darlin'."

Minh awoke to find a man on her bunk with her. She pushed at him, trying to keep him away from her, but he pressed her down.

"Don't be like that, Darlin'," the man said. "You smell much too nice to treat me this way."

Minh heard a snicker from a nearby bunk. At the same time, she thought she heard someone leave the compartment. She now knew she had been set up. The bunk that Vera had assigned her to was the hardest to escape from. Being in the corner, there was no way for her to slip past the intruder. There were rustling noises coming from the surrounding bunks. Minh could sense the inhabitants arranging themselves to watch her plight. There would be no help for her from the other women.

The man pinning her down was larger than her, but not as large as a giant. A hand pawed at her top and she could see the white bond cord on his wrist. She pushed his hand away, raising her knee simultaneously. Her leg connected with him at mid-thigh and he shifted himself. In the process, he released her and she moved away from him. The bulkhead prohibited sideways movement, but she was able to move toward the head of the bunk. She kicked him with her knee again, hitting him in the gut. He grunted and grabbed her trunks.

In panic, she slapped at his head. Her palm hit his ear, eliciting a bellow of pain from him. Encouraged, she struck harder. She didn't see his hand until it was too late. His hand grabbed her by the throat and she felt herself being shoved into the corner of the bunk. Her head hit the bulkhead and stars burst in her vision. The man pushed at her again, forcing her shoulders against one unyielding bulkhead and her head against the other bulkhead. Her neck began hurting and she found it difficult to breath.

"You're not supposed to make me mad, Darlin'," the man uttered. His free hand found its way into her top, groping her. "You put up too much fight for what you really have, little girl."

Minh tried to kick him, but she had no strength. Her hands plucked at the arm choking her. The man chuckled. He knew he had won.

There was a loud pop in her ears. The man released her throat and Minh sagged on the bunk. He has broken my neck, she thought. In the dim red light, she saw the man withdraw from the bunk. He did not move naturally and his head was crooked. He seemed to hover, then drop to the deck. Belatedly, she realized that a massive hand had been holding his neck. That hand had broken his neck. That was the loud noise she had heard.

She lay still, watching the large hand as it set down on her bunk. The rest of the man appeared and she caught sight of the face that peered at her in return. It was the giant with the dark flat top.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a pleasant and resonant voice.

Minh found her breath coming back. Getting an arm beneath her, she moved to pick herself up.

"Aff," she said breathlessly. She rotated her head around to ease the pain in her neck. She felt a pop, then she fell forward, her face hitting the mattress. She knew nothing after that.

xxXxxxXxx

"What is it with you guys? This is the second time in as many days you carried her in here."

Minh knew she was back in sickbay. Hearing Doc's voice was welcome to her ears. She opened her eyes and found herself on her back on an examination table. The light was shining into her face. She raised one arm to block the light so she could see. A few meters away, Doc stood facing the giant that had saved her. The giant saw her movement and looked directly at her. Doc turned, then approached Minh. He switched the light off, then smiled down at her.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"I do not know," Minh tried to sit up. Doc held her elbow to steady her. "I was being-." She stopped and remembered what had happened. She began shaking as she relived the attack in her mind.

"It's okay now," Doc said soothingly. "You are safe now."

"He was going to kill me," Minh said. She looked up at the giant. Doc misunderstood her gesture and a look of outrage appeared on his face.

"Really?" he said, his voice sounding cool in contrast to his heated countenance.

"No, not him," Minh quickly corrected the misunderstanding, pointing at the giant. "He saved me. Then I must have fainted."

"You did not faint," Doc gently explained to her. "You pinched a nerve in a vertebrae in your neck. I think you will be fine, but I want you to rest. You will stay here for the rest of the evening. I just want to be sure."

Minh nodded carefully.

"Go ahead and pick a bunk," Doc pointed across the sickbay. "If you need anything, just ask." He watched the small woman walk away, his interest clinical. Satisfied with what he observed, he turned to Keen.

"What happened?"

"What she said," Keen nodded at Minh.

"She did not say anything," Doc pointed out.

A bondsman walked into the sickbay.

"What is wrong with you?" Doc examined him, recognizing him as Colin. The man was looking into the bay, as if he were searching for someone.

"Is Minh here?" he asked.

"What is your business with her?"

"No business," Colin responded. "Is that her?"

"What is it to you?" Doc evaded, looking where Colin indicated. It was dark at the bunk, barely showing a huddled shape beneath a sheet.

"I should have jumped that scum bag when I heard him talking," Colin said.

"He would have snapped your neck," Keen said. "Just like I snapped his."

"Minh?"

"Unhurt," Keen said.

"To be determined," Doc interjected to Keen, then turned to Colin. "What are you two talking about? What happened?"

"A lot of these guys are animals," Colin said, holding his wrist up, displaying his bond cord. "This one brute was bragging about how he was going to teach some uppity little woman a lesson. He was a pal of Vera's, so I knew he meant Minh."

"Who is Minh to you?" Doc asked.

"No one. I just met her today. Her bunkmates made her lug their dirty bed sheets to the laundry without a bag. It wasn't their day for the wash. I saw her again a few hours ago. She was washing her clothes in the shower," Colin explained, then suddenly exhaled. "What did she do to be put with those dirt bags?"

"Colin went to you?" Doc asked Keen, piecing the story together on his own. "Why not Salen?"

"Minh is Keen's bondswoman," Colin said. "Didn't you hear about the Trial of Refusal?"

"I do not need to concern myself over those activities," Doc said. "I see to enough of their aftermath as it is." He glanced over at where Minh lay, then stared at Keen with sudden understanding. "She is the one you would make an Elemental? You really _are_ trying to kill her!"

"I am testing her," Keen stated. "If she dies, it is only part of the test."

Doc gaped at him with disbelief.

"If she fails the test, can the laundry have her?" Colin asked.

Keen looked down at the bearded bondsman.

"Forget the test," Doc said. "I can use her here. She is young and trainable. She seems bright."

"Neg," Keen said with finality.

Doc shook his head. He looked at where Minh lay, then back to Keen.

"At least get her away from those women," he said. "Even your warrior sybkos are quartered separately until they pass their tests. None of those other women are being tested, are they? Minh should be treated the same as your sybkin."

Keen said nothing. After a moment, he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Elementals can be reasonable," Doc remarked with surprise. Keen was motionless, looking the doctor in the eye. It was obvious that he was not pleased. Colin himself was shocked by the doctor's presumptuous comment.

"If I had said something like that, I would have been pounded into the deck," he said, trying to break the tension. Keen looked at him in acknowledgement.

"As well as you should be," Doc replied, admitting without actually saying so that he had gotten out of line.

"I will return in the morning," Keen informed Doc. He turned and silently departed sickbay.

Minh had heard the entire exchange from where she lay. The men had obviously tried to keep their voices down, but their voices carried across the compartment anyway. She listened to them speak, hearing the term 'Elemental' for the first time. She realized that must be the term for the giants. She understood how the Elemental named Keen had come to rescue her. She also heard how Colin and Doc petitioned Keen for her. From what she had witnessed of the two men, she knew they were kind and she would not have a problem working with them.

Keen was a different matter. Until he had come to her aid, she had never heard him speak. She liked the sound of his large voice. Of course, she was not sure if her friendly feeling for the new stranger was attributed to gratitude. Then there was the matter of the test. She did not know what the test was. The thought of a new challenge attracted her, promising her a sense of direction. After weeks in a void, with no activity or mental stimulation, the prospect of having a goal buoyed her spirits.

Another term puzzled her. What was a 'sybko'? She assumed that sybkin were members of a sybko. Maybe it was derived from siblings, children in a family. Was it some kind of school? With her mind so active, Minh found it very difficult to get to sleep.

xxXxxxXxx

"What are you doing?"

Minh almost jumped at Doc's indignant exclamation. She had awakened early. With her newfound sense of purpose, she prowled the sickbay. In a first aid bag, she found a pair of multi-purpose scissors. With those in hand, she searched for a mirror. Next to the sterilizer she found a metal tray. She could barely make out her reflection in it's surface. Close enough, she had thought. She went to a counter and turned on the light, raising it so it would illuminate her. With the tray set before her like a mirror, she had begun cutting her hair.

"You said if I needed anything, I could use it," Minh resumed her cutting.

"No. I said if you need anything, ask," Doc declared. "Ask! You were supposed to ask. You did not."

"I will clean this up," Minh promised.

"Yes, you will," Doc affirmed. "Every last hair. This is a medical facility, not a place for grooming!"

Minh could tell Doc was irate about this desecration of his domain. She stopped her cutting and gently placed the scissors on the counter. Facing him, she bowed at the waist.

"Please accept my humble apology," she said, maintaining her bow. "It was inconsiderate of me to take your things without your permission. I beg your forgiveness."

Doc looked down at her. No one had genuflected themselves to him before. In fact, he had never seen it done. He did not know the proper response to such an act. He stepped to her and put his hands at both shoulders and pulled her upright.

"There is no real harm," he said. He examined her handiwork, appalled. "What are you trying to do? You cannot see what you are doing."

"I want my hair this short," Minh pointed at the side of her head at jaw level.

"Why?"

"I am Minh," she replied. "It is how I look."

Doc shook his head. He muttered under his breath, remarking that she made as much sense as Keen.

"I will cut if for you," he said finally. "If I can perform surgery, I think I can trim hair. But you will clean up this mess, quaff?"

"Aff," Minh said. "It is a deal."

"You are supposed to say 'bargained well and done'," Doc said.

"Bargained well and done," Minh repeated.

xxXxxxXxx

Keen arrived in sickbay to find his bondswoman on her hands and knees on the deck. He noted her trimmed hair as he silently watched her pick up the newly cut individual strands. Doc was busy at his desk, cutting through a leg of a jumpsuit with a pair of scissors.

Minh picked herself up, declaring that she was through. Doc looked up, then jumped visibly.

"Stop doing that!" he barked. Minh turned to Doc, then followed his gaze. Her eyes widened momentarily, then she disposed of the hair she had collected in her hands.

"I wish you would walk like normal people," Doc complained.

"I am not a normal person," Keen declared. "I am Keen."

Minh looked at him curiously in response to his comment. Doc threw his arms in the air.

"That does it! Take her!" he cried out. "You're welcome to her. Get out. Both of you."

Minh padded quietly to the bunk she had used and stopped. She looked around as if looking for something.

"Here, I trimmed the arms and legs so you do not have to roll them up anymore," Doc waved her jumpsuit. Minh took it from him and thanked him with a bow. With the garment folded over her unbandaged arm, she went to Keen and stood before him.

"I will wash now, if I may," she said courteously. He looked down at her, seeing that she was covered with cut hair. He gave her a single nod, then led her out of sickbay.

"Get that girl some shoes!" Doc yelled after them.

Keen took her to the bathing area for his deck. He remained by the door as the small woman went straight to a bench and deposited her jumpsuit. She proceeded to the shower area and she undressed, dropping her top and trunks on the tiled floor. She looked at her bandaged arm for a moment, her other hand touching the tape holding the wrapping on. She seemed undecided for several moments, then shifted her body and turned the water on. She was careful to keep the bandage out of the spray. With her good arm, she rubbed the water into her hair, then sluiced water over her body. Getting some liquid soap from the dispenser, she rubbed it over her chest. He did not miss the look of revulsion on her face. She washed her chest several times. Finally, she washed her hair, not spending as much time on it as she had on her torso. Then she washed her body. She looked over at Keen once, when she was through washing herself. He looked back, not giving her any sign. Without a comment, she picked up her top and trunks and rinsed them off in the shower. Holding each garment under the dispenser, the added a liberal amount of soap. Squatting down, she scrubbed them against the tile deck.

While Keen watched, he was joined by Aerospace Pilot Stev Ch'in. With his Asian appearance, he resembled Minh. With his enlarged cranium and eyes, that similarity ended.

"She is a difficult person to find," he announced. He scrutinized her for a moment. "What happened to her?" The red welts on her back and chest had yet to fade.

"Salen disciplined her. She fought back," Keen said.

"I would not have thought that of Minh," Stev said. "Why is she doing that? We have washing machines."

"Ask her," Keen directed him.

"I might," Stev snorted, looking at the small woman wash her clothes. "I was wondering if I could borrow her for half an hour each day. She can help me improve my conversational skills in Japanese."

"Minh!" Keen called out. He did not need to raise his voice. It conveyed across the compartment very easily. The woman looked up. She set her clothes aside and stood up.

"You could have waited for her to finish," Stev muttered as she approached, water dripping from her body as she walked. She did not seem self-conscious about her appearance. With her short hair plastered to her head, Stev was reminded of his first sight of this woman. Wet with rain, she had stood with calm composure. Now she waited for further instruction.

"Stev Ch'in would speak with you," Keen informed her. She turned her dark eyes to Stev.

"Minh, I want you to help me speak Japanese," he said. "A half hour each day." Stev looked at Keen. "Perhaps after supper?" Keen nodded.

"I would be honored to be of service," Minh clasped her hands together and bowed, holding it for a moment before straightening up.

"You may finish your wash," Keen informed her.

"Aff, Keen," Minh acknowledged and returned to the shower.

"I cannot imagine her fighting Salen," Stev said, still astonished. He left the washroom without another word.

xxXxxxXxx

With damp clothes in hand, her body clad in her jumpsuit, Minh accompanied Keen to a new bunk room. Unlike the women's bunk room, this one was arranged much differently. Though the compartment appeared to be the same size, there were fewer bunks. There were four on each end, allowing for a total of eight occupants. Each bunk rest on cabinet lockers on the deck. To Minh it seemed a waste of space not to stack another bunk on top. Against the end bulkheads were four tall lockers, each set numbered from '2' to '5'.

Between the two ends of the room, where the entrance to the bunk room was, were two tables. A couch-type seat lined the bulkhead behind them and curved around. Partitions separated the curved seats from the bunk sections. By the entrance were laundry bins, also separated from the bunks by partitions.

"This morning you will clean this compartment," Keen instructed her. Without further direction, he left her alone.

Minh was nonplused. She did not have any cleaning equipment and did not know where they were kept on this deck. If she had to, she could find her way to the bondsmen deck and use the supplies there. She set her clothes on the table to dry and scrutinized her surroundings. It was neat. The bunks with sheets on them were made up. There was an earthy smell in the air. It made her think that the occupants were robust and healthy.

On a whim, she looked in the laundry bins. One bin was empty, except for empty laundry sacks. The other bin was in use, the bags partially filled. She went through the compartment. One side of the room was occupied, sheets and blankets covering the mattresses. The lockers beneath the bunks were filled with personal items and folded clothing. The large standing lockers at the end of the space would not open to her touch. She assumed the handles were somehow keyed to the chemical composition of the owners. At the other end of the room, the mattresses lay bare on the bunks. The lockers beneath them were empty. The standing lockers yielded easily to her touch. There were empty brackets inside, of heavy duty construction. Minh could not tell what was supposed to be contained by them.

Minh returned to the common area of the compartment, the area separating the bunk ends. She had yet to find cleaning equipment, but there was one thing she could do first. Going to the laundry bin, she opened the door and unhooked the bags. The long bags rest on the floor of the bin. The hooks held the bags open for ease of filling. As the bags sagged, she found a strap attached to the upper portion of it. She wrapped it tight and tied it to itself, closing the bag. She could barely lift either bag, but she was positive she could drag both of them at once.

She could feel a hole in her stomach, reminding her that she had not eaten breakfast. Between her hair trim and her shower, she must have used up the time allotted to her for eating, she thought. She arrived at the laundry hot and sweaty. The bondsman was a man she had never seen before. He looked at her with surprise.

"I am Minh. Colin said I could bring my laundry," she explained.

"Uh, yeah," the man sounded uncertain. He bent over the bags and looked at the markings. "Um, don't go away. I'll be back." He went back into the compartment where the sound of washers and dryers could be heard. Moments later, he came back out, accompanied by Colin.

Colin looked at her carefully, then looked at the bags. He motioned for the bondsman to take them in. The man hefted one bag to his shoulder and carried it toward the back.

"You didn't have to bring these down here," he explained to Minh in a kind manner. "We pick up the warrior's laundry from their living spaces. Keen's point was not due to be washed today."

"I did not see a schedule," Minh said. Her mind retained the new term._ What was a 'point'_?

"That's okay," Colin replied. "I said you could come down and I always honor my word. Such as it is." He said the last part with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "We will deliver the laundry when it is done. You only have to deliver and pick up the bondswomen's laundry."

"I understand now. Thank you," Minh gave a brief bow.

On her way back to the bunk room, she stopped at the cleaning closet on the bondsmen deck. There was not even a sponge to be found there. She returned to the bunk room to see what she could do.

Stepping into the compartment, she found she was not alone. It was Vera. Two women were with her. One of the women was pushing a mop in a wheeled bucket. The other carried a spray bottle and a cloth. Vera was empty handed. All three turned to face Minh as she entered.

"Well, look who's here," Vera said unpleasantly. "You missed your work assignment. You're not supposed to be here. This is our area." She expanded her chest as she advanced on Minh, making her large frame look more imposing. "Your Elemental friend is not here to help you now, you little bitch."

Minh did not back away. She kept her dark eyes on the husky woman. To the side, the other two women watched. Vera threw one fist forward in a rabbit punch. To her surprise, the smaller woman sidestepped the jab.

Minh quickly seized Vera's wrist and elbow as she moved around her. Acting as a pivot, she drew Vera around and threw her against the side of a laundry bin. She released Vera and let her fall back. Without pausing, she charged at the woman with the mop. The woman had not expected to be attacked and stepped back. Minh grasped the mop and shoved forward, striking the woman across her chest. The woman let the mop go and scrambled away, quailing in terror. The remaining woman stood rooted in place, clutching her spray bottle as if it were a weapon.

Minh brandished the mop like a staff, the swab head dripping water onto the floor behind her. She pointed the handle at the woman.

"Put that down," she ordered. The woman bent down, placing the cloth and spray bottle on the deck. "Now get out of here."

"What? You can't do this!" Vera picked herself up, rubbing her head.

"I just did," Minh positioned herself so she could see all three women in front of her. "This is my area. I defeated you. I claim your equipment as isorla. You leave now or I drag your bodies out."

The two women edged toward the door behind Vera. Vera caught their movement and pointed at Minh.

"We can take her!" she yelled.

"Uh huh," the woman from whom Minh had taken the mop said doubtfully. "Just like before." The two fled.

Vera held her ground. She locked eyes with Minh, holding her arms before herself in an offensive posture. The joints of her fingers popped audibly as she tightened her fists.

"You'll get yours," she promised. She kicked the laundry bin in fury, then stomped out of the compartment.

Minh relaxed and looked at the equipment she had taken as the spoils of battle. _Isorla_. Doc had been very informative.

When Keen arrived at lunch time, Minh had completed her task. She had managed to locate the cleaning closet on that deck. After careful thought, she placed the bucket and mop in there, but she kept the spray bottle. She rinsed out the cloth in the sink and had brought that back with her as well. With her top and trunks dry, she had pulled them back on.

Keen found her performing stretching exercises. Minh's muscles were sore from wiping down the inside of the empty lockers under the bunks. She was working the kinks out. Upon seeing him, she stood straight and waited. The Elemental walked around the space, not touching anything, but obviously inspecting the room.

"You may go to lunch now," he said finally. "After lunch, I will meet you here. Quaff?"

"Aff, Keen," Minh responded. Once again, he left her alone. As she left the room, she decided to wash her hands and face before she ate. She went to the wash area and walked in. This time, there were many people washing up. An Elemental caught her attention. It looked like Batiste, the bronze. He was applying soap beneath his arms as he stood in the shower spray.

"Why are you in here?"

In her distraction, Minh had not seen Salen approach her. The dark-haired woman wore a sweat stained leotard. She stood over the smaller woman in a domineering manner.

"I am here to wash," Minh said logically.

"Bondswomen do not belong here," Salen said. A number of people stopped their activity to watch. She could see the hostility in their faces.

"I washed here this morning," Minh informed her.

"I do not care about that," Salen snapped. She brought a finger to Minh's neck and traced the red welt. "Perhaps you need another lesson?"

"Neg, Salen," Minh endured the woman's touch.

"Good, little girl. Very good," Salen said with only a hint of approval. A second later, Minh found herself flying backward, caught unawares by Salen's quick shove against her collarbone. She tried to roll, but only managed to skid across the deck until her head hit the bulkhead on the other side of the passage.

"Watch where you are going!" someone admonished her as he stepped over her prone form.

"If you return, I will give you another lesson," Salen smirked at her, then went back into the washing area.

Minh picked herself up. Checking herself, she determined that her only injury was to her dignity. A few jumpsuited warriors leaving the wash room glared at her as they walked by her.

"Stay with your own kind," one of them cursed at her.

"If you do not want me here, why did you bring me?" Minh said to his back. Either he did not hear her or chose to ignore her. She stood there a moment longer, then heeded his command.

Deciding to forego washing, she went straight to the bondsmen dining area. She stood in line, trying to be alone with her thoughts when a finger tapped on her shoulder.

"I said 'hi'!"

Minh turned and saw Katya behind her.

"Hi," she responded.

"I'm glad you're okay," Katya said. "Vera is looking for you."

"She knows where she can find me," Minh said.

"What does that mean?" Katya asked.

"You don't know?" the man behind her joined the conversation. He looked at Minh. "You're the girl who beat her and her friends up, right?"

"You beat Vera?" Katya stared at Minh.

"I wouldn't have believed it myself," the man continued. "One of Vera's pals was complaining about it and Vera told her to be quiet about it. I can see why. She's afraid people won't think she is so tough anymore."

"She'll kill you," Katya said with worry. "She won't rest until she revenges herself on you."

"Yeah," the man agreed. He withdrew from the discussion, suddenly uncomfortable. He did not want to be associated with one of Vera's hunted enemies.

"Be careful," Katya urged Minh.

"Aff," Minh replied.

After her lunch, she returned to the bunk room. This time, she found four Elementals seated at the tables. They looked at her as she entered. She stopped in shock as they stopped speaking. Batiste gave her an unfriendly smile. He must have seen the incident with Salen. No one said a word to her. She felt an urge to explain that she had been instructed to wait there, but the memory of Salen's disdain disabused her of the notion. Batiste had already hit her once when she was in solitary confinement. Admittedly, he had not hit her as hard as she believed he was capable of. The thought of inciting his anger, or taking a real beating from one of these other Elementals was enough to still her tongue. Trying not to appear meek in their eyes, she turned and left the compartment. She stood in the passage out of their sight and waited for Keen. It was several minutes before he appeared, smoothly striding up to her.

"Did I not tell you to meet me inside?" he asked.

"Aff," Minh nodded, feeling that she had failed to follow his instruction.

Keen looked at her, no emotion in his eyes. It was as if he were trying to imprint his thoughts straight into her mind. It was several moments before he turned and entered the bunk room. She followed.

"This is Minh," Keen announced to the Elementals at the tables. "She is our bondswoman. She will bunk in here."

The Elementals looked at each other, obviously unhappy with that pronouncement. Batiste stood and glared at Keen.

"She is not even a warrior," he protested. "We do not need her filthy kind in here."

"Do you challenge me?" Keen asked. To Minh, the space which had recently been the scene of her battle now seemed too small for these large men. Batiste was silent. Minh recognized a battle of wills was taking place. Neither man moved. The other men would not speak until the question was resolved.

"She is not worth it," Batiste dropped back into his seat. He favored her with a look of contempt. Keen turned to Minh.

"You will regard any request by this point as an order from me, quaff?"

"Aff, Keen," Minh responded. She understood that this group of Elementals were a point.

"Then I request that she remain on that side away from us," Batiste said sarcastically, pointing at the unoccupied side of the compartment.

"Aff, Batiste," Minh acknowledged.

"Minh, come with me," Keen led her out of the compartment. After a convoluted journey, she found herself in a storage area. It was appreciably cooler here than in the rest of the JumpShip. At first, Minh was mystified to the purpose of the visit. The answer was self evident when the man in charge of the store room held a new set of coveralls up in front of her.

"This should fit, even though you are a bit shorter than Aerospace Pilots," the storekeeper said, handing the coverall to her. He gave her two more, still folded. Gauging her by eye, he gave her underwear. After going without real underwear for several weeks, Minh could not help but feel optimistic. Perhaps this was a sign that her existence would see improvement.

"I do not know about your feet," the storekeeper went through several pairs of boots. Some were called deck boots. They were heavy and adhered to the metal deck like magnets. Others were field boots, light and supple. Minh liked them, but none of them were small enough. They were like the boots she had when she was captured. Those had been taken from her and she did not know what happened to them. She tried a number of shoes before finding a pair that actually fit. They were for physical fitness, made of leather and nylon with a soft sole.

"Well, that is it," the man brushed his hands together after giving her a handful of socks, pleased to be finished.

"Everything," Keen intoned. "Bedding and grooming kit."

"Oh, yeah," the man went to work. This went quicker since these items did not require fitting. The grooming kit included a comb, scissors, and a small mirror. There was a tooth brush and tube of paste. To Minh, this was a treasure. She really hated the taste of the soap she was using to clean her teeth with. She received a pillow with the bed coverings. On top of all of that was added a duffel bag. "Is this enough?"

Keen looked at the pile of clothes and bedding. Minh was sure he would say yes.

"No. She needs leotards," he said.

"Well, these should fit," the storekeeper returned with two sets. "If not, I do not have any smaller."

Minh packed the duffel with her new possessions and Keen took her back to the bunk room. Leaving the duffel on the deck, she accompanied the Elemental to another area on the same level of the JumpShip. He conducted her to a small compartment. It was similar to the bunk room where she would now reside, but there was a single bunk. There was a large stand up locker against the far bulkhead, but it did not have a number on it like the ones in the bunk room. Beneath the bunk were cabinet lockers. There was a chair and small desk across from the bunk. By the desk was a wash basin. There was no privy.

"Clean this room," Keen ordered. "Afterwards, you are through for today until Stev Ch'in comes for you." Once again, he left Minh to her task.

Minh returned to the bunk room to get her spray bottle and cloth. The room was not difficult to clean. When she tried to wipe down the deck, she discovered that the small area of the floor was still too much to clean. The mop and bucket were missing from the cleaning closet, but she found a hand brush. Using the sink, she wet the brush and scrubbed the floor, using the spray bottle for the really dirty spots.

When she was finished, she looked around the room with a sense of accomplishment. The large stand up locker drew her eyes. She had not tried to open it, thinking it might be locked like the others in the bunk room. Her temptation overwhelmed any sense of reticence she might have had.

The door unlatched at her touch and she pulled the heavy door open. The reflective V-shaped visor on what appeared to be a carapace drew her attention first. She remembered the first time she had seen one like this. It had been on a massive robot. It had ripped her tank open with one three-fingered claw. As if introduced, she noticed the claw. It was attached to an arm that was contained in a bracket. She quickly located the other arm, the one that ended in a laser. She saw most of the pieces of the robot. The torso was there. So were the legs, but she could not see the missile launcher. Everything was arranged so it could be removed individually from the locker. She understood why the lockers required such heavy construction. This robot must weigh a ton. No, not a robot, she corrected herself. It was a suit of powered armor. She recalled that there had been five of these when she had been captured. She remembered the numbered lockers in the bunk room. 2 through 5. She was sure she was looking at suit number one.

Another thought occurred to her. One of the suits that had captured her seemed to be the leader. She remembered the markings on it. Looking at the suit in front of her, she realized that this was the suit. This discovery gave her something to think about. Leaving the contents untouched, she closed the locker. Picking up her cleaning supplies, she departed the room.

Arriving at the bunk room, she encountered the Elementals also returning. Clad in form-fitting body suits, it was obvious that they had just completed a demanding session of physical activity. Stained with heavy perspiration, the one-piece garments they wore were similar to tank tops, but extended down to mid-thigh much like tight shorts. On their feet they wore sandals. A practical person, Minh found herself admiring the sensible footwear.

"Minh," Batiste caught her attention. He stood in the common area, a clean jumpsuit in hand.

Minh had just opened her duffel. She had been about to put her new things away. Batiste pointed toward the other Elementals. They were pulling their clothes out of their lockers.

"Shine them," he said.

Minh was puzzled, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Do not mix them up," another Elemental added. "Put them back where you get them before you get the next pair."

"And do not use the same kit on all of the boots," another Elemental joined in. "None of us want our polish used up, quaff?"

Minh saw the boots standing before each bunk. Beside each pair was a brush, a cloth, and a tin of shoe polish.

"Aff," Minh responded.

"Spit polished," Batiste specified. Immediately, the other Elementals objected.

"I do not want her to spit on my boots."

"Use water."

"Water."

"I do not want your spit on my boots, neither," Batiste modified his instruction to her.

"Aff," Minh acknowledged.

At that moment, Keen entered the compartment. One of the Elementals spoke up.

"Do you need your boots shined, Point Commander?"

Keen ignored the greeting. Instead, he stepped past Batiste and stopped in front of Minh. He looked down at her with a curiously neutral expression. Something was wrong, but she was uncertain to what it was.

"Did you open the locker to my armor?" he asked.

Minh did not miss the look the other Elementals shared with each other. Batiste stared at her with displeasure. She did not understand their indignation.

"Aff, K-," Minh did not have time to finish her answer. A sudden blaze of pain engulfed one side of her face. She found herself on her hands and knees, facing away from Keen. On the floor in front of her face was a red dot. As she watched, another dot appeared. She replayed the last few seconds in her mind. Keen had been incredibly fast. She didn't see his open hand coming until it was too late. The strike had spun her head around and her body followed. Her face throbbed with pain and she could taste her salty blood. With her tongue, she could feel where her teeth had gashed the inside of her cheek.

Groggy, she picked herself up. She turned back around, rocking unsteadily. Keen showed no expression, but the others were smiling.

"Did you touch my armor?" Keen asked.

With her brains rattled, Minh had to think about the question. She shook her head slowly, regretting it instantly.

"Neg, I did not," she said carefully.

Keen narrowed his eyes. Shifting himself, he lifted his hand. Minh understood that he did not believe her. She knew how fast he was. For some reason he was telegraphing his movements.

"I did not touch your armor!" she insisted. She saw the disbelief on his face and she felt angry. "I am not a liar!"

Minh waited for the Elemental to strike her again. Keen seemed to relax his posture and he stepped back.

"Why did you open that locker?" Keen asked.

"I was curious," Minh explained. She pointed at the empty armor lockers behind her. "I could not tell what they were for." She pointed at the lockers behind the Elementals. "I tried to look into those, but they were locked."

"You what?" Batiste growled.

"They were locked, but the other lockers were not," Minh realized that admitting to further transgressions was dangerous, but her credibility was in question.

"That filthy stravag was in our lockers!" That comment came from a light complexioned Elemental. He had short red hair.

Batiste instantly had Minh by the collar of her jumpsuit and had picked her up in one smooth motion. _These guys are fast_, Minh thought as her hands plucked at his arm. She had been looking at the red-haired Elemental, so she had not seen Batiste coming at her until his had her in his grip. She could see the fury in his face and realized the futility of resisting. She lowered her arms, resigning herself to further punishment.

"What gave you the right to go into my locker?" Batiste demanded, shaking Minh like a rag doll.

"I touched nothing," Minh declared. "That is more than I can say about my things. I lost everything I had when I was captured."

"You dare equate yourself to me? You were taken in fair combat!" Batiste held her closer to his face. She could smell the sweat on his body. "You did not best me in combat! You are the bondswoman. I am not a bondsman!"

"Aff, Batiste," Minh whispered weakly. The collar of her jumpsuit was digging into her neck, cutting off the circulation to her brain. "I made a mistake." She tried to keep her attention on the face just nose to nose from hers, but her eyes kept losing focus.

"You are not worth it," he held her away from himself and released her.

Minh landed on her feet, but quickly collapsed. Oxygenated blood flooded her mind and her vision cleared. She did not trust her legs to support her, so she remained on the deck. With her legs folded beneath her, she sat on the sides of her feet. Leaning forward, she touched her head to the deck.

"It will not happen again," she pledged.

"I will snap your little neck if you do," Batiste promised.

"Your life will be forfeit. Do you understand?" Keen asked.

"Aff, Keen," Minh said.

The Elementals began filing out of the compartment to go shower. Before Batiste stepped out, he instructed Minh to finish the boots before supper.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh had gone to the cleaning closet and filled a bucket with water. Bringing it back to the bunk room, she dipped the shoe shining cloths into it while polishing. She was aware it was meal time when she was almost finished with the third pair of boots. She wondered when the boots had last been shined. Even though they were larger than normal, she felt she could have finished all four pairs in a couple of hours.

"Did you purposely leave my boots for last?" Batiste stood over her.

"Neg, Batiste," Minh shook her head, pausing in her work. "I do not even know which boots belong to you."

Batiste pointed at the bunk where his boots still stood untouched.

"You will finish them before you do anything else," he said ominously.

Minh resigned herself to missing supper. With no outward sign of displeasure, she returned to the boots before her. Batiste watched her for a moment, then departed once more.

Stev Ch'in arrived for his conversational Japanese lesson as Minh was applying the finishing touches to Batiste's boots. Stepping up to her, he asked her in Japanese if she could shine his also. He laughed at her reproachful look.

"You look like you could use a break," he said. "I am sure these warriors can spare you for a while."

"Are you finished?" one of the Elementals asked Minh as she rose to her feet.

"Aff," she replied, returning the boots and the polishing kit next to Batiste's bunk.

Minh noticed that Stev was looking at her curiously. Her face felt stiff. She realized that there must have been some bruising and swelling from Keen's slap. Without a word, he led the way out of the compartment. With his casual pace, it was easy for Minh to fall into step beside him.

"O-genki desu ka?" Stev asked. Are you well?

"Hai, genki desu," Minh responded. Yes, I am well. She went on to explain that she had overstepped her bounds, but she had been given corrective action.

Stev chuckled. He replied that Elementals were very harsh taskmasters.

"Hai, so desho-o," Minh agreed. Yes, it is certainly so.

Stev Ch'in's pronunciation was extremely atrocious. As the two walked, she became comfortable in his presence. She began to repeat his phrases. He listened to her and tried again. Instead of bogging down the conversation, they would continue on. He would speak. She corrected him. He spoke again. She would respond to whatever he said. Then Stev would say something else, or he would try to pronounce Minh's response.

A series of tones sounded in the passage. The two had been walking around the deck. Minh was not familiar with the area they were in. Stev commented that the ship would jump in fifteen minutes. He sounded almost calm about it, like it happened all the time._ Of course it happened all the time_, Minh berated herself silently. He was used to it.

The two were walking slowly so they could concentrate on their speaking. Minh kept her eyes open for a place she could get sick. Even though she had missed supper, she knew she was not safe from the effects of the hyper jump. In an almost distracted manner, she maintained the repetitive speech.

Soon, she saw the door to the warrior's communal washing area. She was not permitted in there, but she knew where she was. She subconsciously began walking a bit faster.

"Perhaps we should get you to your bunk," Stev said. "Some people have strange reactions to jumping. You would probably be more comfortable there. Ah, there is the one minute warning tone."

One minute! Minh suddenly broke into a run. She had to hurry. A woman stepped out of the washing area and Minh had to dodge her.

"Minh!" Stev shouted after her.

"Minh, stop!"

Minh recognized the woman's voice. _It would have to be Salen_, she thought._ Don't follow me, just let me go_, she pleaded in her mind. The running footsteps behind her told her she was being pursued.

She threw herself through the door to the cleaning closet. She dropped to her knees, her hands gripping the rim of the floor-mounted deep sink. Her chest heaved as she tried to regain her breath. It had been such a short run. I'm out of shape, she thought as a shadow appeared in the doorway above her. It was Salen. She started to speak, but whatever she said at that moment was lost in the startling transformation of the jump.

The sink seemed to crumble. Minh's arms sank into the deck up to her shoulders while her knees remained braced on deck. The drain spun out of control while the sound of a thousand waterfalls filled her ears. She sank farther into the deck, the metal squeezing her chest. A moment later, there was silence as if a door closed the sound away. She was still kneeling over the sink. The sink was still intact, it's destruction a figment of her jump-addled imagination. A hand caught hold of the back of her collar and started to pull her up. That was when she threw up into the sink. After two savage stomach contractions, she was through. She was unaware of when the hand had released her collar.

"I will never eat that again," she said, eying the mess in the sink. Weak and shaky, she turned the water on and rinsed out the sink, then cupped water under the faucet to splash on her face. When she was finished, she picked herself up and turned to the doorway to leave.

Disoriented, she was surprised to see Salen and Stev Ch'in watching her. She belatedly remembered the language lesson with Stev, but she did not remember meeting Salen.

"You really are worthless," Salen gloated. "Not only do you lack strength and stamina, you cannot endure jumping as well."

Minh remained silent, hoping that the female MechWarrior would soon go away.

"Jump sickness is not a physical failing," Stev said. Salen looked at him with incredulity, then returned her attention to Minh. Her eyes lit up and she stepped closer.

"Who did this to you?" she asked, reaching up and lightly touching Minh's face.

"Keen," Minh answered.

"You cannot keep out of trouble," Salen observed. "Quaff?"

"Aff, Salen," Minh confirmed.

Salen drew her hand away, then administered a little slap, calculated to sting against Minh's injury. Minh winced, but did nothing else. Salen stared hard at her, seeming to become angry. Minh realized she was staring balefully at Salen. She broke eye contact and looked downward.

"Very good, little girl," Salen patted Minh on the head condescendingly. "No more lessons for you today." With that, she turned and walked away.

"Let us get you back before I get you into any more trouble," Stev said. Minh looked at him thoughtfully. He was the only warrior who seemed to regard her as a person, not as chattel or as an undesirable. She returned to the bunk room with the Aerospace Pilot.

Batiste was seated at a table in the common area when they arrived. He did not look pleased.

"You were instructed to finish my boots before you did anything else," he said sourly.

"It is my fault, Elemental Batiste," Stev Ch'in said. "I had made a prior arrangement with Point Commander Keen. She is to serve me after the evening meal every day."

Minh was reminded that she had missed her supper. She felt ambivalence in the matter. She resented not being permitted to eat, but was thankful that she had not eaten.

"You missed a spot," Batiste criticized Minh. She had zoned out of the conversation for a moment, but caught the accusation against her. He pointed over at his boots and Minh instantly comprehended that she was supposed to look. Stepping to the boots, she could not help but notice an Elemental-sized thumb print on each boot. It was obvious they had been applied after she had polished them.

"Minh, I will see you tomorrow," Stev Ch'in made to leave the room.

Minh faced the pilot. Bowing to him, she thanked him in Japanese for giving her a break. He replied in Japanese, saying it was nothing. He did not bow in return, but Minh did not expect him to. A warrior did not accord a bondswoman any such courtesy. He departed without further word.

"You will shine my boots again. This time do not miss any spots," Batiste said. "You will not sleep until this is done."

"Fix my boots also," the lighter complexioned Elemental ordered, the one with the short red hair. "You may have missed spots on them."

"Shine them all. Tonight," Batiste ordered.

"Aff, Batiste," Minh responded. To save herself from further criticism, she picked up his boots and shoe shine kit first. She trudged wearily to her side of the compartment.

Minh had completed two pairs of boots when Batiste turned the lights out in the compartment. The Elementals were turning in to their bunks for the night. The bunk sections were not lit, but the common area was illuminated by dim red lights. It was not bright enough for her to polish boots by, so she took her work out into the passageway.

Minh was so very tired. She had barely slept the night before. Unpleasant as the smell of the polish was, it was not enough to keep the sleep out of her eyes. She finished the third pair of boots. She silently went into the compartment to exchange them for the last pair of boots.

xxXxxxXxx

"Is she dead?"

"She is not breathing."

"Breathing is a measure of higher life forms. This pitiful thing is too small to qualify on any account."

"Shall we wake her?"

"I will not sully my hands on that!"

"I will not have to. I will use this."

"Let me get my boots first."

"Aff, Keller."

The conversation barely registered in Minh's mind. She felt as if she were in a deep, dark pit. Her body felt very heavy. One side of her body was stiff, as if it lay against an unyielding surface. I am lying on the passageway deck, she thought.

Suddenly her head was deluged in a cool spray. Was she in the shower? That was a lot of water to hit her all at once. A loud clatter rang by her head and she abruptly sat up in shock. Opening her eyes, she saw her point of Elementals standing around her. At the forefront was Batiste, the bucket still rocking at his feet where he had obviously dropped it. The red-haired Elemental, Keller, held his boots.

"You were supposed to finish these boots," he rumbled.

"Polish his boots, then you can eat breakfast," Batiste ordered. "But clean up this mess first. We do not wish to advertise we have a slob bunking with us."

_After last night, the last thing I want is breakfast_, Minh thought. Woozy, she rose and went to do Batiste's bidding. After cleaning up the water, she shined the boots. It did not take long. She had almost finished shining the boots the night before when she had inadvertently fallen asleep. Finally finished, she recalled the disparaging remark about her being a slob. She could imagine how she looked, half-soaked with water, her hair plastered against her head. Seeing her duffle on the deck, she realized that she had not put her new things away.

Selecting the bunk in the far corner from the door, she dumped her duffel out on it. She put her clothes in one of the lockers beneath it, hardly filling it at all. Then she made her bunk, looking at the Elementals' bunks so hers would be identical to theirs.

Minh still had time before breakfast was over. She decided to use the opportunity to go to the bondsmen communal washroom.

When Minh returned from bathing, she opened the laundry bin on her side of the compartment and hooked up one of the laundry bags. She threw in her dirty clothes, then sat at the table on her side of the common area to relax.

xxXxxxXxx

"What are you doing there? Get over where you belong!"

Point Commander Keen arrived on the heels of his point at their bunk room. Entering, he saw Batiste pointing to Minh's side of the compartment. Minh rose from the table where she had been sitting. As she stepped to the bunk area, she caught sight of Keen. He noted the wary look in her dark eyes, like that of a small hunted animal. Her skin was pale, except where her cheek bone sported the bruise. He walked to her and gripped her arm. He could feel the bandage beneath the sleeve.

"Does this hurt?" he asked.

"Neg, it itches," Minh answered.

"Go to sickbay. Have Doc change the wrappings," Keen said. "After that, you will clean this bunk room and my quarters. After lunch, be dressed for physical training."

"Aff, Keen," Minh said, beginning to depart when Keen stopped her.

"You will eat lunch," he stipulated. Minh gave him a odd look, but acceded. Keen permitted her to leave the bunk room.

"Are you going to make us train with that weak little ball of fluff?" Batiste demanded.

"I am going to make her train with you," Keen said, twisting the question into an answer. "But, not today."

"Why are you doing this?" Batiste asked.

"Because I can," Keen said. This simple statement, spoken by a warrior to a warrior, was answer enough. Batiste did not like the situation, but he would abide by it, even under protest.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh entered sickbay and stopped in the doorway. She saw Doc speaking with another physician. With a chill, she remembered him as the man administering the truth drug during the nightmarish interrogation. Seeing Minh, the man showed a spark of recognition. He made a comment to Doc. He nodded to the man before striding to Minh.

"At least you are walking in on your own this time," Doc greeted her. He examined her cheek. "That looks bad. Let me take care of it."

Minh waved his hand away from her face.

"Keen wants you to change this wrapping," she said. "He wants me to work out this afternoon."

She tried to pull her sleeve up, but she could not get the cuff up over the bandage. Her old, baggy coveralls would have allowed her to do that. Instead, she had to unzip her new jumpsuit and pull it down from her shoulders to remove her arm from the sleeve the other way.

"Of course. This way," Doc led her to his examination table and made her sit up on it. He tugged at the tape holding the wrappings on. He looked at her as she moved her head around. "Is your neck hurting you?"

"Just sore," Minh said. "I must have slept on it wrong."

"I would guess whiplash," Doc said. "Who hit you?"

"Keen," she replied. Doc saw some color appear on her untouched cheek.

"That would do it," Doc nodded. "This is your second neck injury."

"It is not an injury," Minh said defiantly. "My neck did not hurt when I was hit."

"Whiplash usually doesn't," Doc explained patiently. He had unwrapped Minh's arm and washed the old medicated jell away. He remarked that the blisters were healing nicely. Rather than cover her entire arm with bandages again, he just added new jell to the spots needing it and taped gauze over it. As Minh shrugged the top of her jumpsuit back on, Doc told her to lay down on the table.

"I do not have time for this," she said, getting ready to hop down from the table. Doc placed two fingers on her forehead and pressed back without effort. Unable to resist, Minh fell back and Doc placed her legs on the table.

"I want you to lie there while I place a cold pack on that cheek," he said.

"I've been bruised before," Minh said. "It will go away on it's own. I really have to leave. Keen wants me to-."

"Never mind what Keen told you," Doc said. "While you are in my care, I am in charge of you." Minh recalled his comment to Salen.

"In sickbay, you are khan," she said.

"I am glad that you realize that," Doc said. He patted her shoulder. "Just wait a moment while I get the cold pack." He went to a cabinet to get it. When he turned back, Minh was gone.

xxXxxxXxx

That afternoon, Minh sat on her bunk. When she had pulled on her leotard, she felt self-conscious about it's body hugging fit. She dug in the laundry bag for her trunks and put them on over the leotard. Recalling the sandals she had seen the Elementals wear yesterday, she decided not to wear her shoes.

The Elementals were amused by her attempt at modesty when they saw her sitting cross legged on her bunk. As they changed into their tight suits, Minh kept her eyes averted.

She did not understand her reaction. She felt no stigma about her nakedness when she washed herself in the communal bathing area. When she undressed for the electro-lash, she had not been inhibited about showing her bare torso. However, wearing a garment that showed every contour of her figure bothered her. In addition, sharing a room with four men in the act of changing their clothes added to her discomfort.

Keen entered the bunk room and looked at her. He wore a body suit and sandals. It was the first time she had seen him dressed that way. She watched how his muscles moved under his skin. _With such powerful arms, it was a wonder he did not take my head off_, Minh thought. They seemed to stare at each other for a long moment. Minh saw a look behind his eyes. Was it approval? Acceptance?

"Minh," he said. As he turned away, she understood it to be a command to follow. She quickly unfolded her legs and hopped from the bunk.

The two arrived at the ship's gymnasium. Similar to what Minh had seen before, there was a weight room on one side and what seemed to be a wrestling arena on the other.

"Get your little mascot out of here!"

Minh and Keen turned to face the weight room. Salen rose from a bench press and tramped over to the newcomers. A number of other men and women stopped in their exercises and watched.

"We do not want her kind in here," she declared.

"I care not what you want," Keen said, his voice conveying menace. He maintained a relaxed stance and Minh understood how he was able to strike so quickly. From her limited training in martial arts, she knew that a body at rest had faster reflexes than a body under tension.

"Do not try to intimidate me, Keen," Salen bristled. "I will not work out with this filthy bondswoman and I do not bathe with her."

"Perhaps if you allowed her to bathe, she would not be filthy," Keen remarked dryly. Salen glared at Minh, then made a sniffing noise and walked out of the gymnasium. The others in the gymnasium returned to their activities.

"You will run in a circuit in this area," Keen pointed around the arena. "You need to build endurance. Do not stop until I tell you to. Start now."

Minh began running. The deck was covered with a yielding surface, similar to the tatami mats in the Draconis Combine, but not organic. She started out fast, using up her breath quickly. Panting, she walked around the arena one circuit before running again. It occurred to her to pace herself, to run at a slower pace. Her muscles, unused to such continuous strenuous exercise, still rebelled at what she forced them to do. She was able to run longer, but she still had to walk to regain her breath.

She had not seen the Elementals of Keen's point arrive. She just noted that they were performing stretches in the center of the arena. Later, when she looked, she saw them sparring with each other. The training Minh had undergone in the militia was not lethal. The idea was not to hurt the training partner. The moves these men were practicing were much different. She could hear the impact of the kicks and strikes. The room seemed to reverberate each time one of the large men hit the mat. The men hopped back up, ready to fight.

Fight. She ran the word through her mind. These men were actually fighting. As she trotted, she observed Keen in action. He stepped aside as Batiste threw his fist forward. He sank his own fist into Batiste's ribcage. Batiste shifted himself to minimize the blow. Minh winced at the thump, but Batiste seemed not to feel it. Almost too quick to see, Batiste dropped back, pulling Keen down. Keen broke out of Batiste's grip and rolled in a somersault. Both men were back on their feet in an instant, facing each other.

Is this what Keen wants me to do? Minh wondered. Just one punch from Keen would crush her ribcage.

At the end of the sparring matches, Keen waved Minh to a stop. He instructed her to walk and stretch to cool off before she went to shower. As she walked, another group of Elementals entered the gymnasium. Minh recognized one of them, a dusky woman with pale crewcut hair. She remembered her from her first day on the JumpShip. She and Batiste had escorted her to her cell. The woman sidled up to Keen.

"Letting your pet play?" she asked, her eyes on Minh. She observed the small woman's darkened cheek. "It seems she cannot take a punch."

"That remains to be seen, Suni," Keen said.

"I wish to see you after dinner," Suni turned her attention to Keen.

"I would like that," Keen replied.

Minh stopped, surprised by what she heard. Such a public proposition was unheard of in the Draconis Combine. Not as naive as she looked, she knew just what the two Elementals were discussing. She could feel her face become warm with embarrassment as she thought about it. She would never consent to such an act unless she were married. As if they could read her mind, the two Elementals looked at Minh. Unsettled by their stare, she averted her eyes and walked to the door, raising her hand to shield her face from their looks.

"That is one strange girl," Suni stated as Minh went through the door.

xxXxxxXxx

The days passed in similar routine for Minh. She cleaned the compartments in the morning. The first part of the afternoons were spent running, followed by whatever errands the point wished her to perform. After dinner, she talked with Stev Ch'in. With her mind free to think of other things, she found herself dwelling on Keen and Suni. The way they had arranged to tryst had been entirely too casual. One evening, when Stev was through with her, he asked her if there were any pressing duties waiting for her in the bunk room.

Minh stared at him, her dark eyes guarded. What first came to mind was that day in the gymnasium when Keen accepted Suni's inducement. Was this an invitation for an illicit meeting? Stev noticed the flush of blood creep up her porcelain face.

"Is something wrong?" Stev asked. "Are you ill?"

"Neg, Stev Ch'in," Minh answered. "I have nothing pressing." She regretted admitting that, but as a bondswoman, she had no choice. He could easily find out from the others if they had given her a detail to accomplish. Not that her personal integrity would permit her to lie.

"You do not have to go right back to your quarters," Stev said. He saw her eyes widen in apprehension.

"I do not do that!" Minh spat out indignantly.

"Do?" he could see the revulsion in her expression. It surprised him, because up to now she had been calm and reserved with him.

"Neg! I am not like that!" Minh stepped back from Stev.

"Like what? Minh, what are you talking about?" he could see that she was becoming increasingly agitated. She also widened the distance between them. He tried to approach her.

"Do not touch me!"

At that moment, he comprehended her fear. He turned away and laughed softly.

"Oh, Minh. Minh. Minh," he said. "I like you, but not that way."

"Oh," Minh replied in a small voice. There was uncertainty in her tone.

"All I wanted to do was give you some advice," Stev explained.

Minh regarded him silently. She began to visibly relax.

"If you do not have to go back to your quarters right away, perhaps you could go to the bondsmen," Stev said. "You are new to this way of life. You have not had the opportunity to learn many things you will need to get along with us. All of our bondsmen have been with us longer. You can talk to them. They can acquaint you with the Way of the Clan."

"Aff, Stev Ch'in," Minh said. She noticed that he did not mention bondswomen. Was it a natural oversight, that he included both genders in the name 'bondsmen?' Perhaps he held the bondswomen in the same low regard as everyone else. Whatever he meant, she would keep his suggestion in mind.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was running around the gymnasium. She was maintaining a steady pace. She did not pause to walk so often. The Elementals were in the weight room when Keen called Minh to his side.

"Stretch now," he said, pointing to the center of the arena.

With trepidation, she obeyed his instruction. Remembering how the Elementals had stretched as she ran before, she imitated their movements. While she did this, she looked at the Elementals, wondering what would happen next. Would she have to face one of the giant men in hand to hand combat? It had taken no effort on Batiste's part to lift her with one arm. After the violence she had seen them dispense to each other, she knew she could not withstand a direct assault. In the militia she had received some training in martial arts. Someone had told her it was Judo or Aikido, but she did not know herself. She had been taught to use her small size to her advantage. She learned how to use leverage and how to direct the momentum of an opponent. These Elementals were much too experienced to fall to her amateur techniques.

A warrior walked into the gymnasium and began stretching exercises. Minh looked over at her and saw it was Salen. Salen glared back at her. While the two women warmed up independent of each other, Minh made sure she did not turn her back on Salen. She felt it was foolishness to let someone with such proven hostility out of her sight.

Keen stepped out onto the mat. At his advance, Minh straightened up and faced him squarely.

"You will fight with Salen," Keen informed her. "When Salen is ready, you will start."

"I am ready now," Salen approached them.

"Very well," Keen turned and walked back toward the weight room.

"I do not like this any more than you do, you little runt," Salen said, looking down at the small woman with the defiant dark eyes. Minh rolled her eyes upward at the derogatory remark. "What are you waiting for? Show me what you can do!"

Minh stood with a relaxed stance. As the attacker, she was automatically at a disadvantage. There was no action for her to direct. Any act on her part would give Salen an opening in Minh's defenses. Salen waved an arm out in exasperation.

"Are you going to stand-?" she got no further. Minh sprang forward and slipped beneath Salen's arm. Grasping her at elbow and wrist, she stepped past Salen and pulled her down backward.

Minh stepped away and Salen fell in a sprawl. Salen rolled sideways as she landed and was on her feet again, ready for Minh's follow up maneuver. There was no follow up. Minh realized that Salen had expected more from Minh.

"Try that again," Salen challenged.

Minh walked around Salen, looking for another opportunity. Salen pivoted on one foot, maintaining her center of gravity between her feet. Minh feinted forward as if she were trying to duplicate her last tactic. Salen stepped aside, initiating her own stratagem and catching Minh's wrist. Minh tried to disengage from Salen by twisting her forearm and wheeling away at the same time. All she accomplished was inadvertently tripping Salen. The two women fell in one heap, Minh on the bottom. She had tried to arrest her fall and only succeeded in pinning an arm beneath herself. Her other arm was still in Salen's vise-like grip. Her legs kicked at the mat with no effect on her predicament. With her face nearly level with Salen's, she attempted a head butt. Salen saw the motion and moved her head aside, taking Minh's forehead on her shoulder. With a hissing snarl, she grabbed Minh's hair with her free hand and jerked the small woman's head back against the mat. The two had reached an impasse. Minh was unable kick herself free and both of her arms were pinned. Salen could not move without releasing Minh. All she could do was beat Minh's head against the mat in frustration, but not very effectively.

"Is that all you are good for? Little tricks?" she demanded.

Two feet appeared in her field of vision. She peered up to see Keen looking down at her analytically.

"You said you could fight," he said with reproach.

"She is not a proper opponent," Salen said defensively, banging Minh's head down one more time for emphasis.

"I have heard many excuses," Keller laughed at her. "But never that an opponent was not good enough."

Keen gestured them to get up. "Watch us."

Salen drew back from Minh, who still blinked from her head bouncing. As she sat up, Salen gave her a hard shove sideways. Minh collapsed onto her side.

"Never let your guard down," Salen said acerbically.

Minh picked herself up, already thinking the same thing. She moved out of the way of the Elementals as they took to the mat. She knelt down, sitting on her heels as she placed her hands palm down on her thighs. With her back straight, she kept her attention on the Elementals. Salen looked at her in irritation, wondering why was the bondswoman sitting that way.

Minh watched as dusky Batiste and red-haired Keller faced off. Unlike the bouts she had witnessed before, this time they showed more finesse in their styles. They traded jabs, dodging each other as they circled around each other. The red-haired Elemental managed to seize Batiste's arm and throw him down. Somehow, Batiste was able to hold his opponent's hand and pull him after him. To Minh, it seemed to be choreographed. Each man would get in a strike or throw, only to have his move countered.

Minh was captivated by the demonstration. During one throw, she glanced at Salen in speculation. In her mind she imagined how she would perform the same technique on the taller woman. Salen returned her look with disdain.

The match ended with Batiste the victor. In the second match, Batiste defended his victory against Keen. This contest was shorter, Keen winning this time. Minh was disappointed by the brief duration of the fight. There was something in Keen's form that Minh appreciated as he moved. She watched avidly as he competed with another member of the point. She could understand how he was able to lead these men. With his martial prowess, he won against the remaining members of his team. She did not notice any repetition of technique, a sign of his superior experience.

Keen approached the two women, signaling for them to stand. He demonstrated a technique with Salen, then instructed Minh to perform it with Salen. It was a simple grapple and throw. Then it was Salen's turn to throw Minh. The rest of the physical training session progressed that way. At the end, Keen instructed Minh to stretch before hitting the shower.

"Hai, Sensei," Minh bowed respectfully, then moved away from Salen to do Keen's will. Salen silently mouthed Minh's response. Keen looked after the small woman thoughtfully.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh followed Stev Ch'in's advice to take time to get away from her quarters in the evening after their speech sessions. She discovered that the dining area for the bondsmen served as a common area where the bondsmen could gather in their free time. Almost immediately, she saw Colin. He shared a table with two other bondsmen. He noticed her and waved her over.

"Minh is okay," he was telling his companions as she joined him. The two other men looked at her with skepticism. As Minh sat with them, Colin looked at her. Her facial bruise had mostly faded, but was still visible. "What happened to you? Did you fall down or something?"

"Something," Minh said, waving the concern away. "It is nothing."

"Keen is keeping you busy?" Colin asked. Minh looked at him as if searching for a hidden meaning. He smiled at her. "Working with Elementals is more constructive than associating with the bondswomen on this ship."

"You smell better than they do," one of the other men said.

"I am occupied," Minh responded. She did not feel comfortable with these men. They had nothing in common with her, save for the white cord on their wrists. She knew nothing of their backgrounds. It was obvious they felt the same way about her. The two men with Colin quickly found they needed to be elsewhere. Colin looked apologetically at Minh. Minh waved the apology away.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen had been practicing with Minh for several days. That morning, the JumpShip had made another trip through hyperspace. She observed that Minh was pale and a bit shaky. She derived some satisfaction knowing the smaller woman was still feeling the effects of the jump. Why she insisted on wearing trunks over her work out suit was beyond her understanding. As the two women performed their warm up exercises, the Elementals filed into the gymnasium. Led by Batiste, they stood near the women.

"Do you think you can face me?" Batiste asked Minh with the hint of an unpleasant smile. Minh regarded him carefully.

"Does Keen know about this?" Salen asked, seeing that the point commander was not present.

"This does not concern you, MechWarrior," Batiste said. "Besides, I have seen you fight."

"What do you mean?" Salen asked, stung by the calculated barb. Batiste had challenged a bondswoman, but treated a warrior with indifference. If his slight was calculated to offend, the insult had been well and truly delivered. "If you want a fight, I will give you one."

"I spoke to her first," Batiste looked to Minh.

"I will face you, Batiste," Minh nodded to him.

Salen watched as the two stepped toward the center of the arena. The other members of the point spread out behind Batiste. She noticed that Minh had observed the formation. Batiste beckoned to her to attack him. Minh stepped around him, beyond his arm reach. The Elementals moved themselves to remain behind Batiste.

Salen could not fathom what the Elementals were up to. It did not take four Elementals to defeat one helpless little bondswoman. It was a clear violation of zellbrigen, of one-on-one Clan combat. There was no reason for it. Each of the Elementals alone was more than a match against Minh. She was not at all formidable.

Minh darted forward and Salen saw that she was going for a flying kick. Batiste shifted himself and tried to pluck her from the air. She flailed at him, trying to hit him. Instead of getting a good grip on her, he tossed her away. She whirled through the air and impacted the mat with her entire body. The slam on the deck sounded through gymnasium, causing Salen to wince in sympathy. Minh lifted her head, attempting to get up. After a moment, she lowered her head and remained still.

"You broke her," one of the Elementals said to Batiste.

Salen stood frozen in place, shocked by the display. She did not notice Keen until he had stepped past her and went to Minh's prone body. Belatedly, she realized that he had witnessed the entire event. Keen kneeled over her and spoke to her in a low voice, then looked down along her body. She could not hear his voice, but she knew he was asking Minh if she could move her arms and legs. Salen detected some movement.

Keen carefully felt around Minh's neck, then reached along her body, pinching her arms and legs. If Minh said anything, Salen could not hear. The Elemental eased Minh onto her back and slipped his forearms under her knees and shoulders. He stood up with the small woman in his arms. As Minh nestled her head against his chest, she snaked one arm up around his neck. Keen looked down at her, puzzlement on his face. Without a word, he smoothly carried the woman from the gymnasium.

"What were you trying to do?" Salen demanded as she marched over to Batiste. The Elemental looked at his comrades and nodded.

"This," Batiste suddenly seized Salen by her torso and lifted her from the mat. Before she could react, he spun around and tossed her through the air. Salen shrieked as another Elemental caught her effortlessly. She tried to grab him, but he tossed her to still another Elemental. She shrieked again as she went airborne. Landing in the fourth Elemental's arms, she clutched at him wildly. Grinning broadly, he set her down on the mat.

Salen was reeling, but she refused to fall down. She was mortified that she had displayed fear by crying out. She glowered at the laughing men, struggling to regain her composure and stabilize her shaking knees.

"You asked," Batiste said.

When Keen returned to the gymnasium, Salen was working out in the weight room while his point performed post-athletic stretching exercises. Batiste stopped and hailed Keen. Hearing him, Salen left the weight room.

"What did Doc say?" he asked.

"I did not take her to sickbay," Keen said. "It makes Doc angry whenever I carry her in."

"She hit pretty hard," Salen said as she joined the group. "She could have been seriously hurt." Keen did not miss the venomous look she gave to his team.

"Yes, she could have been," Keen agreed, not pleased. Salen managed to restrain the shudder she felt seeing the cold look in his eyes. However, he was looking at the other Elementals.

"She was not ready," Batiste said in his own defense.

"Who is?" Salen blurted, then faced Keen. "How is Minh?" Keen looked at her in surprise. She had never called the bondswoman by her name before.

"She is resting in her bunk," Keen answered. "Barring complications, she should be fine tomorrow."

"I hope so. She has fire," Salen said. She favored Batiste with a glance. "Of course, it was not intelligent on her part to attack an Elemental."

"As I recall, that was precisely what you wanted to do," Batiste said.

"But I was not recovering from jump sickness," Salen said pointedly. She saw the barb strike home. Not only was Batiste's opponent untrained, but she was not at her best. The point was made that Minh had been less than a proper challenge.

"She gets jump sick?" Batiste sounded surprised.

"Jump sickness is not a physical failing," Salen said automatically. _Why did I say that_? she wondered, realizing that Stev Ch'in had told her the same thing. As she recalled, she gave him the identical look she was receiving from the Elementals.

"That little thing really thought she could beat me," Batiste marveled, almost to himself.

"Well, if Minh is not coming back today, I will just weight train." Salen headed back for the weight room.

"Train harder," Batiste called after her.

"I intend to," Salen said, not looking back.

On her way to the shower later, Salen stopped by the Elemental's bunk room. The light was off, except for the red lighting in the common area. She entered and quickly located Minh. She lay on the unoccupied side of the compartment. As a MechWarrior, Salem had her own quarters. Elemental point commanders were equal to MechWarriors, so they were entitled to separate quarters also. On this JumpShip, the remaining members of a point shared double bunk rooms. Since there was not a full complement of Elementals on board, this point had the bunk room to themselves. To themselves and one bondswoman, Salen corrected herself.

She looked down at the small woman under the blanket. She lay so still that Salen bent down to listen for breathing. Up close, the woman's face was only a pale oval in the darkness. She could not detect any sign of pain in her features. She was a picture of tranquility.

Salen examined her feelings. Why was she checking up on this bondswoman? Did she actually feel concern for this girl? Did she feel satisfaction because she seemed okay, or that she had been thrown down?

xxXxxxXxx

When Minh had awakened the next morning, the Elementals were already gone from the bunk room. She checked herself during her morning wash up. Along one side of her body was one mottled bruise. A bondsman she only knew by sight looked curiously at her. She was late to breakfast. The cook let her have a quick bowl of hot cereal before sending her away. Her morning cleaning duties were not arduous to her.

After lunch, she changed her clothes. The Elemental side of the compartment remained devoid of their occupants. The Elementals always worked out after lunch. Puzzled, she departed for the gymnasium. Stepping into the passageway, she could feel the deck vibrate beneath her bare feet. Four Elementals wearing power armor strode toward her in single file. She stepped aside as they passed her. They turned and entered the bunk room.

She was tempted to follow them. She was curious to see them remove the suits. It was a passing temptation, though. She did not wish to earn more punishment. If they wished her to observe, she would have been so informed, she reasoned. She must have been really out of it not to have noticed them getting dressed in the armor. They had to have done so when she was still sleeping. They had not been around when she cleaned the compartment, unless they had gone in when she was cleaning Keen's room. She had not seen Keen at all. It made sense to her that if the point was in armor, then Keen had been with them. Thus, they had been suited up since early morning. Minh continued to the gymnasium.

As Minh performed her warm up, her body betrayed her stiffness. After stretching her arms and legs, she sat on the mat. With legs spread, she gripped one foot and stretched her back, then repeated the exercise the other way. She caught her breath, feeling the tender muscles in her side protest in pain. Straightening up she rotated her neck experimentally, feeling some soreness there also.

She felt a presence at her side and she looked up. Salen was standing next to her. The appraising look she received lacked the animosity she was used to seeing. The woman lowered herself to the mat and started her regimen, not taking her eyes from Minh.

"Keen wants you to run today," Salen said. "Can you run?"

"Aff, I think so," Minh nodded. Since she was finished stretching, she rose and began her run. There was a sharp pain in her side every time her feet hit the mat. She tried to lighten the impact of her steps by landing on her toes. On her third lap, Salen fell in beside her.

"I am out of shape," she said.

Minh gave her a sidelong glance. Salen had a figure any woman would envy, smooth with little sign of fat. The taller woman was making an effort to keep in step with her slower pace. She did not understand the change in the MechWarrior's attitude. If Minh did not know better, she would think that Salen pitied her. That was highly unlikely, since Salen had never demonstrated mercy, much less pity.

Batiste entered the gymnasium and stood in the doorway, watching the two women slowly run. As they approached, he waved to Minh to stop.

"Are you well?" he asked.

"I hurt," Minh admitted. She made a shallow bow to him. "I thank you for your consideration. However, I feel I must apologize to you for my poor performance."

"What?" both Batiste and Salen burst out.

"I ruined your technique yesterday," Minh explained, straightening up. "When I am better, I would like to try again. I think it would be fun."

"Fun," Salen repeated, making the word sound flat.

"You are not ready. You need more training," Batiste said.

"Aff, Batiste," Minh bowed again. "I will train." With that, she began running again.

"Keen is right. She does have heart," Batiste said.

"But she does not have the body for it," Salen looked after Minh for a moment, then took off after her.

Draconis Combine Induction Center, Luthien

Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine

17 June 3051

The lights snapped on in the barracks bunk room. It was still dark outside._ Was it four o'clock already_? It felt as if Huy Tran had just gone to bed. _It must be a mistake_, he thought. The lights will go out and he could get back to sleep.

"Tran! I better see your feet on the floor in three seconds or I will drop you on your head!"

Huy popped awake. The recruit drill instructor was not kidding. Just the day before, he threw another recruit from his bunk. He leaped from his top bunk, almost landing on his bunk mate.

"Four minutes!" the drill instructor yelled. The men had four minutes to be outside of the barracks in formation, prepared for physical training. It was nothing to put on their shorts and running shoes. Most of that time would be spent making their bunks, then lining up outside in ranks. Each man had his position in the ranks he had to march in.

As Huy folded his blanket, he noticed that there were few men in the barracks. He quickly deposited the blanket on the foot of his bunk, then ran for the door. He did not want to be the last man in ranks. The last man had to perform twenty pushups while the others watched.

"A tie!" the drill instructor called out. "Down, you two!"

Huy dropped to the ground. As he counted out the push ups, he recalled his father's offer of influence. Apart from getting posted to Luthien for recruit training, that influence proved inconsequential. After two weeks, he hated the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery and completely loathed his drill instructor, Gunso Leonid.

"You're going to have to be faster than that, Tran!" Leonid yelled. "Shape up, or you will end up dead just like your sister."

The cutting remark fired his emotions. His sister had made the rank of Gunso in the militia back home. He could not imagine her behaving like the overbearing authoritarian Leonid. He had not seen her after she had joined the militia. It was easy to imagine her in a tank. He could even imagine her in field pack in the infantry. She had been very active on the farm. Her death had motivated him to join the DCMS. His training company knew this. Leonid made it a point to use it against Huy at every opportunity. Huy hated the cruel comments and had been counseled by other recruits in the company. If he could not take this, then how could he expect to endure when things get worse?

That reminded him of his father. He had always thought of his father as a very strong man. After his return from his unsuccessful trip to find Minh, his father seemed to shrink. The journey seemed to have taken the vitality out of him. For days he remained in the house. One day, he did not get up and a doctor was summoned. The doctor assumed it had been an illness picked up from digging up graves with his hands during his search for Minh.

Huy took over for his father on the farm. The foreman had the experience to oversee the everyday functions of the farm. Huy watched and learned under his tutelage. As a courtesy, he informed Huy of any decisions that needed to be made and his recommendations. Huy deferred to the foreman's judgment, learning a lesson in leadership. Let the experienced professional do his job. In addition, the foreman used the Vietnamese honorific 'ong' when referring to Huy by name, calling him Ong Tran. It made him feel uneasy, as if his father were really gone. However, he took his responsibilities seriously.

Because he was under legal age, he could not sign off on invoices and other documents. His mother had the signing authority while his father recuperated. Despite that, she seemed to look at him meaningfully at various times. He could comprehend what she was telling him. He was needed at home.

According to Tai Nguyen, his young betrothed, the two families had already contributed more than their fair share to the Dragon's war machine. _There was no such thing as fair share_, Huy had countered. That had been a cruel response, he realized now. Her brother had been killed at the same time as his sister. Belatedly, he came to remember something else. At one time Minh had been arranged to wed Tai's brother. To escape what she had termed a living death, Minh had enlisted in the militia. Now she was really dead, as opposed to being a widow had she remained at home.

Huy found himself affianced to Tai a few months after Minh had left home. There was been a three year difference in their ages, which would not matter when they were wed. However, the marriage would have to wait four years. Eighteen was the legal age for many matters, including the commencement of military service and marriage.

He did not love her, but did not have a problem with the arrangement. Tai seemed to have accepted it without any qualms. Given her objection to his enlistment in the DCMS, she demonstrated that she expected her unsolicited opinions to have weight in his decisions. Concerning his enlistment, Tai was just like his mother. They agreed he was being hasty. As for his father, he remained silent on the matter.

Tai's parents, on the other hand, were very supportive of his decision. He had assured them that he had not enlisted to escape from the arrangement. From the discussions he had shared with them, he came to understand that he did not completely understand them. On one hand, they viewed his enlistment as 'wanderlust.' In the years until he could legal wed their daughter, he would have the opportunity to mature, to get the adventurism out of his system. They wanted a stable and reliable son-in-law to support their daughter. He was not sure if that was the reason, or if it was the opportunity to avenge their own lost son that drove their enthusiasm.

He hardly knew Tai, but he found her to be an intelligent young lady. It was the intelligence that reminded him of his sister. Apart from that, she was completely different. She was taller, wore her hair much longer, and expected her life to remain the same as it was now. Perhaps she would change her point of view in the few years it would take for her to reach legal age.

He had not suffered the same estrangement from his mother as Minh had upon her departure. Perhaps his mother wished that she had kept talking to Minh, believing that Minh would have remained home. He doubted that. Minh had been resolute in her plans and she had always been self-confident. It was difficult to reconcile the fact that she was dead. She kept the lines of communication open. She did not want him to join the DCMS. She did not argue with him, but spoke to him earnestly at different opportunities. The day he left, she informed him that if he changed his mind, he was free to return home. No one would think badly of him, of that he was positive. Deep down, he knew he could not respect himself if he did not keep his word.

He felt the emotional pull to stay. He loved his mother and wanted to please her. If his father had remained an invalid, he would have remained home. Once his father was up from his sick bed, he knew he was free to go.

Part of his father's discouragement stemmed from his inability to bury his daughter. He had no fingernail clippings nor lock of hair. Before Huy left, he managed to get his father alone. He did not want his father to go through another quest for his remains. In Japanese fashion, he clipped his fingernails and cut a lock of his hair. Enclosing them in a simple letter envelope, he asked his father to place them someplace secure. If his mother knew about it now, she would surely become hysterical. In the event he did not return from combat, at least they would have that for the funeral.

To say that his father had returned from his search for Minh empty-handed would be inaccurate. There had been one survivor from his sister's militia company. It had been the company clerk, who had taken pictures of the militia for a visual record. He gave Huy's father a record card with some photographs on it. Huy had copies of two of the photographs in his barracks locker. One of them showed his sister standing before her commanding officer as he pinned her new collar devices on upon her promotion. He could not recall ever seeing his sister smile. True to his memory of her, she did not smile in the photo, but her eyes were bright with self-esteem. The other picture showed her in the turret of her tank. It was raining and she wore a wide-brimmed helmet and a canvas poncho. Beneath her helmet she had a radio headset, the microphone on the other side of her face. It was this picture that haunted Huy. This was Minh's final picture before she had been killed.

There were no other pictures of Minh, or other members of the family, for that matter. Photography was a luxury that they had done without. Instead, his father had commissioned portraits made of himself and his wife when they were first married. He had meant to get portraits painted of their children, but that had not happened. Not until after Minh had gone. Since that sad time, there was a portrait of Huy in the sitting room now.

Completing his push ups, he rose and took his place in ranks. First, he would get through basic training, in spite of that sadist Gunso Leonid. Then he would be ready to attack the enemy.


	4. Chapter 3

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Three by D G Palmer

Wolf Clan JumpShip Trailblaze

en route to Clan Wolf occupied space

10 February 3051

Bondsman Nagatake had to wash himself repeatedly to get the repulsive smell out of his skin and hair. He worked for the engineering techs, performing the dirtiest and most distasteful tasks. He would clean the sludge and other matter from in the environmental area after the techs made their repairs and maintenance. The techs were waiting for their journey to end. Once the majority of the personnel were off of the JumpShip, the sewage recovery system could be taken off-line and overhauled. He could not blame them for not cleaning up their messes. If he were them and had a subordinate available for the task, he would do the same thing. He was rinsing the soap from his hair when he noticed someone walk by.

It was a woman, petite in stature with short, neatly trimmed black hair. He turned his head for a better look. Soap fell into his eyes, blinding him. When he washed the soap away, the woman was gone. He cursed in Japanese.

"What was that?"

Nagatake saw that the speaker was Colin, the bearded bondsman who ran the laundry. He was in the process of undressing for his shower.

"Did you see her?" Nagatake motioned to the door where the woman departed through.

"Short? About so high?" Colin held his hand out below shoulder height. "What about her?"

"Who is she?"

"That is Minh. She is bondswoman to the Elementals," Colin explained. "I thought everyone knew that."

"I spend a lot of time in the pits," Nagatake said, excusing his ignorance.

"I hear you are a hard worker," Colin said. "Tell you what. Minh comes down to the bondsmen mess area after dinner sometimes. She doesn't say much, but I will introduce you. Just be sure you are clean." The last part he said with a disarming grin. Nagatake laughed.

"Maybe I will drop by sometime," he said. He stuck his head under the shower and scrubbed the remaining soap out of his hair.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh left the bondsmen's communal washing area and proceeded to her quarters. She usually washed herself three times a day; once when she woke up, again after physical fitness training, and once more before she went to bed. She had a bunk in one side of an Elemental bunk room. There was room for eight Elementals, but it was only occupied by half that many.

When she first began bunking with them, they described her as 'filthy'. That was only when they described her at all, since she was beneath their notice. Many of the warriors regarded bondsmen in that manner. She felt some of that was deserved, given her early experience on board the JumpShip. Over the weeks, the Elementals noted her propensity for bathing. Epithets involving uncleanliness ceased to be used against her.

Minh was self-conscious about her appearance. She had always been well-groomed. When completely dried, her black hair fell neatly into place. The short length and coarseness was what made it so manageable. It did not extend farther down than her chin. Her almond-shaped eyes, straw-colored skin, and slender build were a result of her Asian heritage, Vietnamese to be exact. She was small at fifty-eight centimeters. She weighed thirty-nine kilograms, which was perhaps a fifth of what an Elemental weighed. She was aware of the appreciative looks she received from the men on the ship, at least the bondsmen. That made her uncomfortable, to which she attributed to her rural upbringing. Her family had a large corn farm, requiring the work of many men and women. As the owner's daughter, she worked alongside them. As she matured, none of the men had dared to look at her like some of the bondsmen did. She was nineteen now.

Trust did not come easy to her in her new life with the Wolf Clan. She was not welcome in many places on the ship. The white bond cord on her right wrist advertised her identity. Warriors seemed to be waiting for any real or perceived reason to slap bondsmen down. In addition to the warriors, she had to watch out for others as well. Many of the bondsmen were as unruly as a pack of stray dogs. And just as untrustworthy. Last week, she had been attacked in the shower for her grooming kit. Her training with the Elementals made her more than a match for her attacker. Since her release from solitary confinement, she had developed a severe case of paranoia. She found it difficult to relate with the other bondsmen. They shared nothing in common apart from the white cord on their wrists. None exhibited any sign of military bearing, so she wasn't sure if they had been soldiers before becoming bonded. Some seemed to have the mindset of criminals. Only a few had any real responsibility. Colin, for one. He was in charge of the laundry.

She could not talk to the warriors she knew about her concerns. Bondsmen were beneath the notice of warriors. Of course, there were exceptions. She was on speaking terms with Aerospace Pilot Stev Ch'in. He actually talked to her like an equal, but Minh did not fool herself. She knew he treated her like that because it made the daily Japanese tutoring sessions less awkward on her as the teacher. After the lesson was over, she was just a bondswoman again.

Mechwarrior Salen was another warrior Minh spent time with on a daily basis. She trained with Minh. From the beginning, the warrior had treated Minh with contempt. She had been averse to sharing the gymnasium with the bondswoman, much less the warrior bathing facilities. Minh did not know what made her participate in the training. She now seemed to tolerate Minh, as long as Minh understood her place.

The Elementals she trained with, and incidentally lived with, saw her as their personal servant. After all, she cleaned their compartment and performed whatever tasks they set before her. She had never approached them in conversation. She only responded to their commands and directions.

Keen, their point commander, was an enigma to her. He was the Elemental who had captured her. It was his idea for her to train with the Elementals. She did not understand why. None of the warriors understood. Batiste, one of his Elementals, had almost come to blows with Keen over her when she moved into the bunk room. She did not know what to make of Keen.

If she trusted anyone, it was Doc. He had indoctrinated her to the Ways of the Clan when she had left solitary confinement. At that time she was his patient, having been whipped by Salen. A member of the technical caste, he was neither bondsman nor warrior. By his own declaration, he was 'khan of the sickbay'. About matters of the clan, she knew him to be reliable. However, she felt she could not go to him about her personal self.

It was after lights out when she arrived at the bunk room. The only illumination in the compartment was from the red lights in the common area between the two bunk areas. Batiste, the bronze-skinned Elemental with the shaven head, sat at one of the two tables in the common. At two and a half meters tall when standing, he was still impressive in size when seated. Minh glanced at him, but he stared right through her. Satisfied that he was not waiting for her, she continued toward her bunk. Taking her jumpsuit off, she placed it in a locker beneath her bunk. Clad in shorts and top, she crawled into her bunk.

Sleep came slowly. The vague, unresolved issues weighed heavily on her mind. That she had no confidantes seemed to aggravate the situation.

xxXxxxXxx

The next day, Minh was sparring in the gymnasium with Salen. Over her work out togs she wore a pair of trunks. That arrangement of dress drew curious stares from the warriors who shared the mat with the two sparring partners.

They circled around each other, each taking turns being the aggressor. The weeks had seen a noticeable improvement in both women.

The Elementals were practicing disarming techniques using fighting knives. Keen had stepped from the group and stood watching the women throw each other.

"Minh," he said when they had completed a maneuver. The two women straightened and Minh approached Keen with light steps.

Keen made a 'come along' gesture. Minh charged without seeming to think about it, one fist poised to strike. Coming into range, she threw her punch toward Keen's gut. Keen stepped aside easily, caught her arm, and directed her away from him. She skidded into a half-roll, returning to her feet in a crouch. To Salen, the look on her face was wolfish. Keen was after her immediately. She snatched at his wrist and turned away from him, pulling him over her as she ducked. Keen sailed over her in a somersault. Just as quickly, the match was over with a hand signal from Keen. Minh arrested her attack and stood at rest. The two opponents stared at each other.

"You let me throw you," Minh said finally.

"I was testing your reflexes, not your skill," Keen explained.

"I want to try again," Minh stated. "For real, this time."

"Neg," Keen looked at her, noting her aggressive stance. Her dark eyes glittered dangerously. Like Salen, he also observed her feral expression. She reminded him of a wolf pup, small but with sharp teeth. Without further explanation, he returned to the other Elementals.

Minh rejoined Salen and assumed a readiness stance.

"I want to do that again," she said. "Do not hold back."

"I have never held back," Salen said haughtily. "Do not presume to command me, bondswoman." She shifted her stance. "Well, come on. Bring it on."

Standing on the other side of his team, Keen watched the fight. The smaller woman attacked Salen the same way she had attacked him. Instead of trying to throw her, she fell back and propelled Minh over the top of her with a foot to her midsection. Minh performed a tuck and roll, springing back to her feet. Salen tried to meet her, but she was slower regaining her feet.

Keen examined her form, seeing the slim muscles flex. She was fleet of foot as she leaped at Salen. Despite her coordination, he saw a lot of wasted motion. It was obvious she was trying to prove herself.

She had managed to send Salen down to the mat, pinning her face down with both arms in a lock. She waited a moment, then released Salen and stepped away, her face flushed with accomplishment. She looked toward Keen defiantly. Her eyes found his watching her. Neither seemed to move for several heartbeats. It was almost like a battle of wills. Then he saw a change come over her face, a troubled expression appearing. Keen took stock of himself, realizing that he had been showing appreciation. Minh looked away when Salen slapped her on the arm.

"You are pretty good," Salen said. "I am done for today. Come. We will work out on weights." Minh followed, not looking toward the Elementals, particularly the Elemental Keen.

Stev Ch'in met Minh after dinner for his Japanese speech lesson. He was typical of genetically engineered Aerospace Pilots, with the larger than normal cranium and eyes. His eyes were shaped similar to Minh's. He noticed that Minh seemed to be preoccupied. She was easily distracted. As they walked, she would look around discerningly at the other personnel in the passageway. He would say something to her in Japanese. If he needed to improve his pronunciation, she would repeat his phrase correctly. After he said it again, she would respond to the content of the phrase.

He had just repeated his sentence to her. Looking away, Minh responded. He had no idea what she said.

"You know I do not understand Vietnamese," he said.

Minh furrowed her brows as she recalled what she had said.

"Is there something wrong?" Stev asked. Minh looked guarded, her lips firmly closed. "You have not gotten into trouble lately, have you?" The bruise she had sported on her cheek had mostly faded, given to her for a previous transgression on her part.

"Neg, I am not in trouble, Stev Ch'in," Minh shook her head. Minh always sounded formal to him. She always addressed him by his entire name.

"We seem to be doing the same thing every time we meet," he remarked. "I know I am getting tired of seeing the same passageways every evening. How about you?"

"I am a bondswoman," Minh replied. "This is my lot in life. I deserve no better than I receive."

_She actually sounds like she means that_, Stev thought. Humility was a foreign concept to him. He looked at her. She was regarding him with a suspicious look.

"In that case, we will go someplace else," he said. He led the way to the elevator. Once inside, he pressed the button at the top of a diagram mounted next to the door. The diagram was shaped like a JumpShip, with a bulbous top and a stick-shaped tail. They had boarded the elevator a couple decks from the bottom of the bulb. At the end of the ride, the two disembarked and stood in a gallery.

"That is the bridge," Stev pointed to the deck below them. The bridge was a disk-shaped deck. The gallery deck was supported by a tower which enclosed the elevator shaft. The tower was in the center of the bridge deck. The gallery on which they stood was totally surrounded from deck to overhead by armored glass. "They cannot hear us up here, so we will not disturb them."

Minh followed Stev around the gallery as he described the various bridge stations in Japanese. He explained that the JumpShip was in the middle of a recharge. The solar sail had been deployed to collect energy for the lithium-fusion batteries. It was the batteries that powered the Kearny-Fuchida hyper-drive. The lithium-fusion batteries were capable of storing power for two jumps. However, the captain of the JumpShip was making single jumps. That way, if the ship happened into a dangerous situation, it could jump again without having to recharge first.

They could not see the sail from where they stood on the ship since it was directly below them. The bridge crew kept the ship pointed at the sun. The solar sail acted much like a sail on a sailing ship on an ocean. The light energy pushed the ship backward. The ship used thrusters to remain on station during the recharge, firing through a hole in the center of the sail to prevent damage to the delicate sail.

Stev looked up, pointing. Minh followed and saw a series of view ports overhead. There was another set outside of the gallery, for the benefit of those on the bridge. Directly overhead, beyond the nose of the JumpShip was the star which was the source for their recharge. It looked so far away. Stev pointed out the different planets circling the star. Minh could not see them and said so.

"My eyes are a lot better than yours," Stev commented. She looked into his eyes and he was surprised to see her become apprehensive again. Something was bothering her. He thought back to her denial, realizing that she had only responded to his question about getting into trouble. She had not answered when he asked her what was wrong. Perhaps she would open up if he tried another tack.

"A person could become a bit crazed looking at the same bulkheads day after day. I think it is called cabin fever," he said. He directed his eyes back upward. Minh remained silent.

It was dark out there, despite the relative nearness of the system sun. Hundreds of billions of kilometers away were more suns, some twinkling and some just dull pinpricks of light. To Stev, viewing the deepest reaches of space was a humbling experience. Mankind had created many technological marvels over the centuries, discovering many different things in science and nature. JumpShips could leap thirty lightyears at a time, remaining away from planets for an almost indefinite amount of time as long as the recycling systems remained operable. However, if something went wrong, a misjump or a disaster on board, the crew was at the mercy of space. There was no mercy in space. Unless there was another JumpShip nearby, or a habitable planet they could land on, the crew and passengers were lost. Due to the nature of the jumps, there was a lot of space that was not charted. With the tremendous distances involved, it was not feasible to travel the same path on reaction drive engines. A lifetime was not enough to complete the trip. The engines would need an extremely excessive amount of fuel. The engines and fuel bunkers would take up most of the space on the ship. The crew would have to remain small with super-efficient recycling systems and life support, or cryogenic hybernation chambers.

Minh stared at him as he recited his soliloquy, an uneasy expression on her face._ She did not really need to hear that_, he thought. _I should learn when to shut up._

Minh looked back down on the bridge. It seemed to be colder in this part of the ship. She shivered as she gripped the handrail that encircled the gallery deck. The sight of the crewmen working in a routine manner brought back a sense of calm to her.

As Minh seemed to relax, the door to the elevator opened behind them. A dusky-skinned Elemental with light-colored hair in a crewcut stepped out. The two turned to acknowledge the female Elemental.

"Suni," Stev greeted her.

"Stev," she replied, then looked at Minh. "It seems I cannot get away from your sorry little face."

Without a word, Minh stepped past her and entered the elevator. She pressed the button for her destination and the doors closed. Stev sighed and Suni looked at him.

"I was not through with her," he said.

"She apparently thought so," Suni said.

xxXxxxXxx

On the elevator, Minh thought about what had just happened. She saw Suni on a nearly daily basis. Her Elemental point was usually scheduled to use the gymnasium after the point Minh belonged to. She would talk to Keen before he departed with his team. Once, Minh had overheard the two arrange for an intimate rendezvous later in the day. She had been shocked that private relations between unmarried people were acceptable in Clan Wolf. This was due to the fact that she had not been raised in a permissive society. Until a few moments ago, she was unaware that Suni even noticed her.

Suni had not treated her any differently from the way the other Elementals did. The arrogance was part of their genetic make up as Wolf Clan warriors. They were supreme and expected the subservient to know their place. Minh was an exception to the rule. She had access to the gymnasium and she lived in an Elemental bunk room. With the white braided cord on her right wrist, she was forbidden from using the other facilities on the warrior deck, such as dining and washing. She could only eat and bathe with the bondsmen.

Seeing Suni reminded Minh of Keen. Perhaps that was why she was troubled. She had been bothered ever since she noticed Keen observing her on the mat. She had seen something in his eyes. She could not define it, but it seemed familiar, as if she might share the look. Maybe next time, it would not be Suni, but herself in his room.

That thought hit her like a bolt of lightning, sending a jolt of fear through her. The elevator arrived at her deck and she ran out, not waiting for the doors to completely open. She did not even slow down until she reached her quarters. She skidded to a stop in the common. The four Elementals ceased their conversation at her abrupt entry.

"What are you doing?" Batiste asked. Minh looked at the giant men staring at her. She was hardly winded from the short run. She dared not admit that she seemed to be experiencing a panic attack.

"Running," she admitted after several moments of thought.

"As long as you know what you are doing," Batiste said.

"She looked like she knew what she was doing when she took Salen down," said Keller, light-complexioned with short red hair.

Minh looked at them strangely. They seemed friendly. That bit of praise from Keller was unusual. Without another comment, she went into her side of the compartment and sat on her bunk. A partition separated the tables from her view, so she could not see the Elementals. They began talking again.

Minh wished she could talk to someone about what she was thinking. She felt isolated and alone. Despite Stev Ch'in's friendly manner, she was afraid to trust him. Not that he had given her any real cause for distrust. No, the root of the issue was that he was a man. She was a woman in a subservient position in his society. He had assured her once that he was not interested in having a physical relationship with her, but she could not accept his words at face value. She did not know him. She did not know anyone at all.

xxXxxxXxx

The next morning, Nagatake was walking through the warrior living area. He had learned that Minh cleaned compartments for the warriors. She was regarded as a strange woman, who had actually attacked three bondswomen and taken their cleaning gear as a form of tribute. No one could claim to be her friend, but many bondsmen knew her. A few admired her, especially those like Colin who were trusted with responsibility.

Nagatake himself was not trusted to do more than the filthiest work in the JumpShip. When he had been captured, he had resisted to the best of his ability. While in solitary confinement, he tried to be as irascible as possible. He thought he could resist interrogation, but had failed miserably. It seemed that his investigators took perverse pleasure in breaking him down. They had no respect for him and when they were done, neither did he.

He had failed in his duty as a soldier, not only on the battlefield but in captivity as well. Walking through the corridor, he was determined to make a difference. There was one thing he could do, if only he could find Minh.

A door opened behind him. He expected it to be a warrior. Since he did not belong in the area, Nagatake expected to be challenged. He paused.

A short Asian woman emerged carrying cleaning supplies. _Yes, it is her_, he thought.

Minh noticed the bondsman with the slight limp. She looked sharply at him. He seemed familiar to her. Then her eyes lit up.

"Tai-i!" she greeted him, rushing up to him.

"Gunso Tran," he replied, taking a good look at her. She seemed well fed. Her movements were graceful. Her joy at seeing him only served to feed his anger. Her smile faded as he began speaking to her in Japanese. He accused her of treason because she was training with the enemy. Had she forgotten her duty to the Draconis Combine, to the Coordinator who managed the interstellar empire? What happened to her loyalty for the militia company who had been slaughtered by the enemy? Where was her honor? How dare she embrace the way of the Clan? What would her family think if they could see her now? They would be disgraced.

The woman before him was devastated. Each word he spoke seemed to be a physical blow against her. Speechless, she remained rooted in place as he continued to tear her apart verbally. To Nagatake, her silence was an admission of guilt. He almost lost control of himself. It was only through pure will that he prevented himself from striking her. Instead, he waved his fist in her face. Minh made no attempt to defend herself. He finished abruptly, having spoken his mind. With a final look of contempt, he turned on his heel and left her standing.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh did not go down to lunch. She sat on her bunk, wondering how she could possibly make right her wrong. It was so clear to her now. The uncertainty she felt earlier was a sign of her conflicting loyalties. She was supposed to be dependable. Tai-i Tsubaki had reminded her of that by addressing her by her rank. He had spoken of duty and honor. He had not mentioned atonement, but by pointing out her error, he alluded to it.

"You will be late," Batiste admonished her.

So deep in thought, Minh had not seen the Elementals enter the compartment and begin changing into their work out togs. She looked at them, a detached expression on her face._ Yes, that is the way_, she thought.

"Yes, Batiste," she said, purposely not saying 'aff.' "Thank you."

As Batiste forecast, Minh arrived late. Salen stopped her warm ups and braced her angrily. Minh merely bowed to her and apologized for her neglect. In the next breath, she asked if they could practice with the fighting knives.

"Why not?" Salen went to Batiste to borrow one from the point while Minh went to the far side of the arena.

Salen returned with the knife. It was so sharp, the edge did not reflect light. She took the role of attacker. It was Minh's task to disarm her. Minh had been watching the Elementals practice, so she understood the principle. It was similar to the training she had received so far. She would get control of Salen's knife arm, directing her body to the mat in the same motion. After pinning the woman down, she would lever the knife free.

She was aware that the Elementals were watching from their training area. She had never tried this before, so they were naturally curious. At least Keen was not present, she thought.

As if summoned by the mental reference to his name, Keen walked into the gymmasium. He noticed the activity and stood by the door, watching.

_No matter_, Minh thought to herself. He was too far away to interfere with her scheme.

The take down went as Minh planned. She seized Salen by the arm and pivoted her body next to Salen's. Maintaining control, she brought the dark-haired woman down to the mat, pinning her down until she could get the knife.

The handle of the knife felt large in Minh's grip. She rose and stepped away from Salen, backing herself into the corner of the gymnasium.

"Pretty good," Salen picked herself up. "Let us see if-."

"Stay back," Minh said softly. She did not want her voice to carry to the Elementals. She shifted the knife in her hand. She wanted Salen to maintain her distance. When facing a situation like this, a normal person would hang back out of arm range of a knife.

Salen was not a normal person. A MechWarrior of the Wolf Clan, she had been bred for battle. Minh's low volume order had been a challenge to the warrior. The woman was quick and nimble, grasping both of Minh's hands at the same time.

"You would try to kill me?" Salen hissed. "You treacherous little-!"

Minh did not wait to listen to Salen. In an act of desperation, she slammed her head forward. Her forehead struck Salen on the chin and she could hear her teeth snap together. At the same time, she saw an explosion of light in front of her eyes. The MechWarrior fell away, releasing her grip on Minh. Minh found herself on her hands and knees, momentarily stunned.

Had they jumped again? Why was she so dizzy? Clarity returned to her mind. Where was the knife? She wondered how long she had been on the mat. Salen was regaining her senses quickly. Minh did not dare look at the Elementals. Where was the knife?

The fighting knife had fallen in the corner behind Minh. She crawled over to it and quickly picked it up. She could hear rapid footsteps behind her. Heavy footsteps. Pointing the blade at herself, she plunged it toward her neck. Her eyes were closed tightly as she felt the touch of the knife press against her skin. She also felt a hand on hers. Opening her eyes, she saw a massive hand wrapped around her fist. She could not bring her hand closer. She tried to drive her throat forward, but another hand gripped her shoulder.

Minh had been holding her breath as she tried to cut herself. The hand drew the knife away from her, deftly twisting it out of her fingers. She knew it had to be Keen. He had prevented her from committing suicide. It was Salen's fault that Minh had failed her duty. Salen had given him time to intervene, while taking time from Minh. There had not even been time for ritual. Salen had attacked her before she could say her last words. She had failed. As Keen released her shoulder, she exhaled suddenly in defeat.

Blood sprayed forth, spreading a pattern of red on the wall and mat. The knife had been so sharp, she had not felt it cut. She could feel the blood in her throat. She had not failed. As she smiled at the realization, her body sagged sideways and she collapsed in shock. She did not feel her head strike the mat. She could feel her consciousness leaving her, the darkness arriving with the sound of a waterfall. She could barely hear Salen's appalled voice.

"Oh, Minh."

xxXxxxXxx

It felt so foggy and dim. Is this death? Minh wondered.

She opened her eyes. Above her was a white ceiling with pipes and ducting. She knew this ceiling. This was sickbay. Groggy, she moved her eyes. She could not see anyone without moving her head. Her head felt so heavy and her neck felt very stiff.

Why was she still alive?

Weakly, she raised a shaky hand to her neck. A thick bandage was taped over her throat. Something partially restricted her movement and she saw an intravenous tube had been inserted into the underside of her forearm below her elbow.

"Minh?"

It sounded like Salen. A shape Minh had assumed to be a shadow in her peripheral vision rose from the bunk next to hers. Salen must have been sitting on the bunk watching her. The MechWarrior bent over her and peered down into her face.

"What were you trying to do?" she stared into Minh's eyes. Minh remained silent. The MechWarrior appeared to be distressed over the incident. "I will get Doc." She straightened up and left.

_I am alone now_, Minh thought, fingering the bandage on her neck. _I do not have much time._

Her feeble fingers could not hold the bulky bandage. She exhaled in frustration. Then she changed her mode of attack, hooking her fingers under the gauze. She pulled at it, feeling the tape stubbornly stick to her skin. _Why is it so hard_? she wondered. With a slow tearing sound, the tape began to let go.

"Stop that."

Minh jumped at the voice, her arm flinching involuntarily. She had not seen Doc approach. He had brown hair with gray highlights, showing his age. He took her hand and placed it back down at her side.

"You do not want to do that," Doc examined her. "You will tear your stitches out if you are not careful."

"Let. Me. Die."

"What is she saying?" Salen stood behind Doc.

"She is still groggy. She does not know what she is saying," Doc replied.

"Duty."

Minh tried to increase her vocal volume. She raised both of her hands toward her neck.

"Honor."

Her voice was still very weak, but she heard Salen repeat the word. Minh took hold of the bandage again.

"Stop that!" Doc put her hands down again.

Hindered from her goal, she sought to find another way. When he released her hands, she reached to the IV in her arm. As she tried to tear it from her arm, Doc easily unpeeled her fingers from it. Minh moved her arm in an attempt to jerk the IV out. Doc placed his hands over the IV needle inserted in her arm to prevent its removal. In so doing, he pulled the IV tube from the IV bottle. He suddenly cursed.

"Stop fighting me!"

"She is a handful, is she not?" Salen remarked.

"Here, you hold her," Doc snapped at Salen. "I need to get restraints. She is going to hurt herself."

Salen took his place over Minh, holding her arms down. Minh kicked up inside the blanket. The tucked in bedding hindered the movement of her legs. Doc quickly returned with straps. Minh strained against the two of them as her arms were bound to the railings running along the sides of the bunk. Then they ran two straps over the blanket across her thighs and shins.

"At least she has color in her cheeks," Doc observed when they were done.

Immobilized, Minh panted, her face damp with perspiration. Underneath the blanket she was very warm.

"Why are you doing this?" Salen demanded.

"You cannot understand," Minh said bitterly, her voice returning.

"Understand what?" Salen coaxed.

Seeing Salen making an effort to converse with her, Minh felt a kinship with the MechWarrior. She seemed genuinely interested in Minh. Her thoughts were awhirl with conflicting emotions. She had not felt close to anyone since she was in the militia. Remembering her dead comrades, her resolve returned.

Salen was positive she was reaching Minh. The small woman's soft expression showed she was receptive to conversation. Then she changed, her eyes hardening.

She began speaking, her voice impassioned. She spoke in a rising voice, totally incoherent to Salen.

"What are you saying?" she held Minh's shoulders. "I cannot understand you."

"I believe she told you that you would not understand. She told me that the first time she spoke to me," Stev said. He had arrived unnoticed. "What happened?"

"The little fool tried to take her own head off," Salen explained. "What is she saying?"

"She is not speaking Japanese," Stev clarified. "It is Vietnamese."

"Japanese. Vietnamese. What is the difference?" Salen demanded.

"The difference is that I do not know Vietnamese," Stev said.

"Well, talk to her in Japanese," Salen ordered. "You spend a lot of time with her. She knows you."

Stev stood beside Salen at the bunk. He addressed her, trying to get a word in through the woman's raving. She clearly did not want to listen as she sought to drown out his voice. Her voice rose in pitch, sounding hysterical. Suddenly, she coughed, speckling her lips with red.

"Uh, Doc," Salen gestured to Minh. The doctor peered past.

"She still has damage inside her trachea. She must rest or she will undo everything I did to patch her back up," Doc directed them to leave.

Salen saw a calculating look steal across Minh's face. She gave out a shrill cry, full of rage and hatred. Salen reached over and lightly slapped her face. Minh stopped her shout and snapped her teeth at Salen's hand.

"She tried to bite me," Salen snatched her hand back.

"I can understand how she feels," Doc remarked from across sickbay. He was opening a cabinet. Salen gave him a reproachful look, seeing his response as a slight against her.

Minh coughed again, more blood staining her lips. With a victorious look on her face, she screamed again.

"Move," Doc was back, a hypodermic syringe in hand. Stev and Salen stepped aside. Doc injected the syringe into a receptacle on the IV tube.

"No. Please. Let me go," Minh begged, watching him depress the plunger of the syringe, forcing the drug into the IV tube.

"It is for your own good," Doc said kindly.

The lucid moment passed. Minh wailed, totally abandoning reason once more. Her voice grew weaker and she succumbed to chemically-induced unconsciousness.

"I cannot keep drugging her," Doc said. "It will interfere with her healing."

"Will she keep doing that?" Salen asked.

"She is a very determined young woman," Doc said. "She can be very single-minded. There is something going on in her mind."

"But what is it?" Salen demanded. "She does not talk to anyone. Except you." She turned to Stev.

"Minh is a very private person," he responded. "I talk to her about things, but she never reciprocates. She never talks about herself. However, I noticed that she has become temperamental lately."

"Temperamental?" a deep voice repeated.

"Keen! Have you ever considered wearing a bell?" Doc snapped at the Elemental. As usual, the monumental warrior had arrived unnoticed.

"Improve your observation skills. If you cannot pay attention to your surroundings, do not blame me," Keen stepped up and looked down at Minh. Her face had relaxed from her expression of agitation. "Temperamental?"

"I thought she might have cabin fever," Stev said.

"You think you are a doctor now?" Doc asked. "What kind of fever is that?"

"He means she was going crazy in here," Salen said. "You should get out more. You would know things like that."

"I would if I could," Doc said defensively. "But my services are very much in demand here in sickbay."

"I took her to the observation gallery over the bridge," Stev continued through the interruption. "It was just the two of us. I thought she might relax."

"What did you think, taking her up there alone?" Salen asked. Until that moment, it had not occurred to Salen that Minh would have objected to being alone with a man.

"She knew there was nothing to fear from me," Stev said. "I had already explained to her that I was not interested in her as a partner."

"Of course she believed you," Salen said sarcastically. "Did you not see her paranoia? Paranoid people trust no one."

"Oh."

"Yes. Oh," Salen turned to Doc. "Is there not a treatment for that?" She motioned to the syringe in his hand.

"There are chemical treatments and mood altering drugs," Doc confirmed, "But Minh is in no condition to undertake any treatment right now. With her small body mass, she has no reserves. She needs all of her energy to heal her wound.

"No, chemicals are not the cure. The solution is to change her attitude. When you were training with her, did any of you take into account her mental attitude? Did you provide her with positive reinforcement?"

"Positive reinforcement?" Stev repeated. "As I recall, she was tutoring me. Was I supposed to tell her 'good teacher'?"

"The idea is to create a bond," Doc said. "You do that by communication."

"How can we do that when she will not communicate with us?" Salen demanded. "It is not enough that we cannot communicate with her. She will not trust us. If only we had more of her people with us. They could talk to her. We should have taken more bondsmen!"

"They fought so fiercely to the death. No one surrendered to us," Stev said. "We should not be surprised that this has happened." He looked down at Minh. "But there is one other."

"There is another one like Minh?" Salen asked.

"He is Japanese, but shares the culture of the Draconis Combine," Stev said. "He was her commander."

"I thought you said no one surrendered," Salen said.

"He was subdued just as Minh was," Stev said. "Suni could not catch his scout car and called down a missile barrage on him. He survived the crash, then he attacked her power armor with a stick."

"Suni did not take him as her bondsman?" Salen asked.

"You know Elementals. So fickle," Stev looked at Keen. The Elemental gave no sign that he had heard Stev, keeping his attention on the small woman strapped to the bunk.

"I do not believe this conversation," Doc said, shaking his head.

"I will find him," Stev departed sickbay.

xxXxxxXxx

Nagatake had been ordered out of the pit and into the shower earlier than usual. He was instructed to hurry, that a warrior wanted to speak with him. He was washing his hair for the second time when he heard a voice speak to him in Japanese.

_Great_, he thought. _It's that little guy again_. He had last seen the man during his interrogation. The clanner had spoken with an awful accent. From the sound of it, he was getting better.

While he rinsed off, the little man made small talk, asking him cultural questions. Each answer brought a new question. What imbued the soldiers of the Draconis Combine with fighting spirit? What was the origin of Bushido, the way of the warrior? What made the samurai of ancient Japan choose death over captivity? Why would a samurai take his own life? That was wasteful and illogical.

"War is not logical," Nagatake said in answer. After he had dressed, the small warrior led him from the washroom.

"Why the interest in my cultural background?" Nagatake asked.

"I am acquainted with one of your former comrades," Stev said.

"Gunso Tran," Nagatake guessed.

"She is Minh now, Nagatake," Stev said pointedly.

"I would not be a Draconis Combine officer if I permitted myself to be demilitarized by you," Nagatake said.

"You still do not get it," Stev said. "You are not in the Draconis Combine anymore. You belong to Clan Wolf. Clinging to that attitude is what put you into waste recycling in the first place."

"I would rather remain in the pit than serve Clan Wolf," Nagatake said defiantly, realizing that by working in the pit, he was serving the clan anyway. At least in that activity, he was not helping advance the enemy cause nor participating in the assembly of weapons and munitions to be used against his own people.

"Suni was right by refusing to take you as her bondsman," Stev remarked. "You really are too stupid to be of any use to anyone."

Nagatake did not understand the reference to Suni. The comment about stupidity caught his attention.

"What does this have to do with Tran?" Nagatake asked. He did not see the subtle movement before Stev poked him in the stomach. Nagatake bent over in pain.

"I corrected you once," Stev said in a falsely tolerant manner. "I will not do so again, quaff?"

"Aff," Nagatake straightened himself up. "Is this about Minh?"

"This is all about Minh," Stev agreed.

"Minh is a disgrace to the Draconis Combine. It is too bad she proved to be so weak," Nagatake said. "I had hoped otherwise for her."

"In what way is Minh weak?" Stev asked.

"I thought I saw her die in her tank," Nagatake said. "She had been so single-minded in her duty. I was so proud that my company faced the enemy bravely. It was to my shame that I survived their demise. Given the opportunity, I would have died with them. In surviving, I failed in my duty. In living, I have no honor."

"Duty. Honor," Stev repeated the key words, recalling that Minh had also spoke them. He knew he was close to discovering the driving force behind Minh's recent conduct. "When did you last see Minh?"

"I saw her this morning," Nagatake answered. "Why do you ask? Has she done something?"

"She is in sickbay," Stev said.

"Did she finally become disobedient and rebel against Clan Wolf? Did one of your goons punish her for it?"

"She tried to take her own life. She is confined and under sedation to keep her from causing more harm to herself," Stev explained. "You must have said something to her."

"All I did was remind her of her responsibility to the Draconis Combine," Nagatake said.

"What of your responsibility?" Stev inquired. "Who are you to demand more from those you call your subordinates than you are willing to live up to yourself?"

Nagatake opened his mouth to respond, but he realized that all he had was empty rhetoric. As Minh's superior officer, it was his responsibility to properly lead her. It was his right as an officer to demand the most from those under his command. However, an officer must lead by example, to give as much as he demanded. Did he lack the courage to live and die by his honor? Is that why he had assaulted Minh?

"Come," Stev started walking. "Come look at the results of your responsibility."

It was the first time Nagatake had walked into sickbay on his own. He recognized the operating theater where he had been interrogated. It did not seem so foreboding as it had when it was set up for the drug-torture. Stev led him toward the bunks. On one bunk sat a dark-haired woman. She sat crosslegged, facing the bunk beside hers. He saw an older brown-haired man bending over the other bunk. He saw the diminutive form of Minh in the bunk. Her arms were buckled in straps to the railings. An intravenous tube ran from a bottle to one arm. Two more straps were unbucked and hanging loose. Her blanket had been pulled from her body. A sheen of perspiration covered her skin. Taped over her throat was a thick padding of gauze.

_Ojigai_. It was the ritual form of suicide performed by women of the Draconis Combine.

"What are you doing to her?" Nagatake demanded, angered by the lack of dignity caused by the lowered blanket and signs of physical duress. They had taken her honor by not permitting her to complete her act of ojigai.

"This is your doing," Stev replied.

The dark-haired woman leaned over and grabbed Nagatake by the collar. She pulled him close.

"You did this to her?" she said menacingly. A moment later, she wrinkled her nose and she thrust the man away from her. "Where have you been? You stink!"

"He washed himself twice, Salen," Stev reported to her, then turned to the man. "Doc, what is wrong?"

"She is overheated," Doc explained. "I am letting her cool down so she does not become heat stressed."

Nagatake looked down at Minh. She was slender, just like she was months before. However, her muscle tone was more pronounced. Even in her helpless state, she seemed to exhibit strength. This small person was all that remained of his company. Seeing her like that, the doubts raised by Stev's argument resurfaced. Instead of being pleased that she had survived his battlefield ineptitude, he had driven her to suicide, to complete the destruction of his company. Had he done her a disservice?

Salen continued to glare at him.

"How long will she sleep?" Nagatake asked.

"Three, maybe four hours," Doc replied. "But she cannot heal this way. The drugs will cause too much interference. The only other option is to let her scream and fight her bonds. The damage inside her throat may not be enough to make her bleed to death, but she could cause herself a stroke by continuing to resist."

"She is very determined. She had been throwing me around pretty good lately on the mat," Salen said thoughtfully.

"I felt you were acting more sensible lately," Stev commented.

Salen ignored the jibe that sense had been knocked into her.

"She was always so moody, but I never expected this," she said.

"That is not like her at all," Nagatake interjected. "Perhaps I can talk to her."

"So you can finish her off?" Salen asked acidly.

"It is another option," Doc said, indicating Nagatake. "I cannot keep drugging her. To let her fight will only waste her health. Even after she is healed, we have to consider what to do with her. I cannot keep her in here indefinitely. She will only try again, perhaps taking someone else with her next time."

"Then let him talk to her."

"Keen! How did you get in here?" Doc demanded. "I was watching the door."

"Then you should have seen me," Keen replied.

Nagatake turned to see a large man with dark hair cut flat on top. Keen merely glanced at Nagatake, then looked at Minh. There was a flicker in his eyes, something akin to concern. Compassion? Minh was important to him. Minh was important to all of these people.

"Fine, he can talk to Minh," Salen said. "But he had better wash first."

"Hmm, yes," Doc agreed. "I cannot have my sickbay smelling like a cesspool. Where do you work, anyway?"

"You do not want to know," Stev said. He faced Nagatake. "Come. You will wash again."

"Use soap this time," Salen said malevolently.

When Stev returned with Nagatake two hours later, Keen was gone. Salen lay on her side on her bunk, apparently napping. Minh had been covered up with her blanket and strapped down across her thighs and shins.

"Minh will still be out for a while," Doc said to Stev. He nodded toward Nagatake. "Did he spend the entire time washing?"

"Neg. Two more soapings did the trick," Stev said. "We had a long talk about his conduct when he talks to Minh."

Doc looked at Nagatake, aware that long talks could involve physical persuasion. The bondsman did not appear to be favoring any part of his person.

It had been longer than Doc's original estimate of four hours before Minh showed signs of regaining consciousness. Her fingers twitched. Moments later she tried to slip her arms out of the restraining loops, but the straps held them firmly in place. Salen sat up and looked at her. Minh caught the movement and she was still for a moment.

A piercing scream of sheer rage filled the sickbay. It lasted nearly a minute.

"That nap seems to have energized her," Doc said morosely.

After that outburst, Minh caught her breath, then launched into a savage tirade, sounding both demanding and derisive. As she rapidly spoke, she strained against her bonds.

"I tried to talk to her earlier when she was like this," Stev said. "Apparently, when she talks Vietnamese, she will not listen to anything but Vietnamese. I do not know for sure."

"I do not know Vietnamese," Nagatake said. With a look of determination, he began to walk toward the angry woman. "But I know Minh."

Nagatake stepped into Minh's view. From the tempo of her speech, she did not notice him.

"Gunso Tran! You will be silent and pay attention when your commanding officer enters the room!" he shouted over her voice. Salen visibly started at his verbal onslaught. Minh was immediately silent. Nagatake stared at her for over a minute. When he began to speak, it was in a low tone, but with no less authority. Salen could not understand him, as he spoke in Japanese, but Stev could follow along.

Nagatake was saying that Minh was setting a sorry example as a member of the armed forces from the Draconis Combine. What would her parents think if they saw her acting this way?

Stev could not see Minh's face from where he stood out of her line of sight, but he could tell by the movement of her head that the comment about her parents had struck a nerve. Salen cocked her head, noting Minh's reaction but not understanding what was said.

Nagatake continued by stating that he had not ordered her to take her own life.

Minh spoke, her voice soft and deferential. She explained that he was correct in reminding her of her obligation to the Draconis Combine and her family. Her honor was stained by her conduct with her new relations with the Wolf Clan. She had failed to fulfill her duty on the field of battle and she fully intended to pay the ultimate price of failure.

"The failure on the field of battle was mine," Nagatake explained. "You and the rest of the company were there at my orders."

"I should have been better," Minh declared.

"You were one of the few who showed promise. The company was not properly prepared for the battle," Nagatake said. "I knew that, yet I sent you out anyway. As your commanding officer, the responsibility for failure rests on my shoulders, not yours. The price is not yours to pay. It was my mistake to place that burden on you."

Minh kept insisting in her quiet voice that she must accept blame for her actions. Nagatake responded that she could act no other way. She had performed to the best of her training up until the time of her defeat in combat.

Stev understood that the two speakers were not actually debating. It seemed to be a conversational formula, each one accepting blame.

"I must be permitted to atone for my improper conduct," Minh insisted.

"It is my place to make atonement," Nagatake said. "I was incorrect to place any responsibilty on you while ignoring my own guilt."

"Tai-i, I-," Minh tried to respond but Nagatake interrupted her.

"Do not call me that," Nagatake instructed her. "We are bonded now. Here in Clan Wolf, the two of us are equal."

"That does not excuse me from carrying out my duty," Minh continued.

"Look at me," Nagatake said. "I am standing before you. How can I possibly permit you to kill yourself when I still live. I was a commissioned officer in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. You were an enlisted militia soldier who had recently been a civilian. Do not tell me about duty."

"Yes, sir," Minh complied.

"Do not call me that, neither. If you will address me, call me Nagatake," he corrected her.

"Yes, Nagatake," Minh acknowledged. "But, what about my atonement?"

"You have done more than was required," Nagatake informed her.

"But," Minh was speechless, not quite ready to accept what her former commander told her.

"All that is expected from you,-" Nagatake began, then stopped himself. "We are here now. We must make the best of this situation. I do not know what is in store for myself, but you have a real future here." He paused and looked at her.

"Yes, Nagatake," Minh said, seeing that she was expected to respond.

"Listen to these people, Minh," he continued, leaning down and placing one hand on her shoulder. He looked into her face. "If it seems right to you, do as they say. If it seems wrong, stand up for yourself. They respect courage, so do not be afraid."

"Yes, Nagatake."

"I did not have a chance to say this in the end," Nagatake said in an empathetic voice. "It is a privilege to have had the opportunity to be your commander. I am proud of you.

"Now, no more of this foolishness. You are meant for much more than this. Get well and be yourself. Perhaps later we can become friends."

"Yes, I would like that," Minh said in a small voice.

Nagatake gave her shoulder a squeeze, then straightened and walked away. Minh turned her head to watch him leave, then saw Salen sitting on the bunk next to hers. The woman was staring at her strangely.

"I have dishonored my comrades. I have dishonored my family by my conduct," Minh said bitterly, her eyes glimmering. "I have dishonored you by deceiving you."

"You deceived me?" Salen rose from the bunk and went to Minh's side.

"I tricked you into giving me the knife," Minh said. "I am sorry." With that, she began to cry quietly, the tears rolling down her cheeks. Salen smoothed the hair over Minh's forehead. The gesture surprised her. She had never felt the need to provide tenderness before. She had not understood the conversation between Nagatake and Minh, but she knew on a base level that Minh would be all right.

Without another thought, she began unbuckling the straps holding Minh down. With the straps off, Minh was able to roll onto her side toward Salen. Then she sat up, gathering the blanket around herself. She shivered as she wiped her face with trembling fingers. Then she looked around and saw Doc.

"I will not cause you any more trouble," she said, then leaned forward in a bow.

"That would be a first," Doc shook his head, his voice falsely gruff.

Stev motioned to Nagatake and led him out of the sickbay. They paused in the passageway.

"You deviated from what you were instructed to tell her," he said in an ominously casual manner.

"Minh would not have listened to me if I had talked to her the way you wanted me to," Nagatake replied.

"That part about right and wrong and being herself," Stev looked levelly at Nagatake. "What was that all about?"

"You want Minh, quaff? Not a mindless drone," Nagatake quizzed. "You could always reprogram her if you want. You have the mind-altering drugs to do that."

Stev nodded in response.

"At least this way she is a consenting individual," Nagatake said.

"I see your point," Stev conceded. "In this matter, the Wolf will be generous. I believe your talents would be of better use somewhere other than in the pit."


	5. Chapter 4

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Four by D G Palmer

Wolf Clan JumpShip Trailblaze

en route to Clan Wolf occupied space

13 February 3051

Minh had spent the most part of the night in a sleepless state, just lying in the bunk in sickbay. She had slept much of the day. Her mind was still embroiled in confusion. A part of her was still unconvinced of her lack of responsibility. Nagatake, her former company commander, had been very convincing when he informed her it was not her fault. Of course, he had been very convincing when he had accused her in the first place. What was she supposed to do now? How would she face the warriors? They had witnessed her suicide attempt in the gymnasium. She felt ashamed of herself for her action. With her mind troubled, it was only in the early morning that she managed to doze off.

"If she spends too much time in here, she will get lazy."

"She does not look that bad. We will take her with us now."

"Do not think your large size intimidates me," that was Doc's voice. "Minh remains here until I release her. Not before."

Minh recognized the other voices. The first one was Batiste, the second belonged to Keller. She opened her eyes, then sat up suddenly when she saw the close proximity of the Elementals. All four of her bunkmates stood over her. She could feel her face warm up in embarrassment. She steadied herself as a wave of dizziness passed over her.

"Not so fast, Minh," Doc counseled her. His brown hair had gray highlights. In addition to his careworn facial features, he looked older than the Elementals.

"Aff, Doc," Minh said, not taking her eyes from the Elementals. She did not see Keen. She did not know if she was relieved or disappointed by his absence.

"We heard you were half-dead," the bronze-colored and shaven-headed Batiste said. "We came to see for ourselves. There is nothing wrong with you that a healthy breakfast would not cure."

"You can have her after the sutures are removed," Doc declared.

"When will that be?"

"When her wound has healed sufficently," Doc explained. Batiste looked sharply at Minh and she became more uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

"How long will that take?" he asked.

"Perhaps a week," Doc estimated.

"A week!" Keller burst out. He wore his red hair cut very short. Batiste looked at him. He noted Keller's normally light complexion was almost as pale as Minh's unhealthy wan color.

"You are mad because someone else will be cleaning our compartment," he said. He returned his attention to Minh. In the sickbay bunk, she looked smaller than usual. A thick bandage was taped to her throat. It looked too bulky on her. Her dark almond-shaped eyes stared upward at him as he spoke. He could see that she had not slept well. Her chin-length hair was slightly tangled from her sleep, attesting to her night's restlessness.

"Minh is a better compartment cleaner than any two bondswomen," Keller boasted.

"They usually send three," Minh interjected.

The Elementals became quiet and stared at her. Minh felt positive she spoke out of turn. She had never joined in their conversations before unless directed to. Perhaps she should have kept her silence.

"Aff, they do!" Batiste suddenly laughed.

"And you can tell when they have been around by the unwashed scent they leave behind," Keller agreed. "This one smells of soap, if you smell her at all."

Minh felt shocked by their familiarity with her habit of cleanliness.

"You will be sorely missed, little one," Batiste said. "After seeing what you did to Salen the other day, I have been wanting a try against you."

"Aff, Batiste," Minh said. "I will get well soon."

"Great," Doc said sarcastically. "Get well so he can throw you back in here."

xxXxxxXxx

Minh had eaten her supper in sickbay, small portions of food carefully cut so as not to stress her throat. She was restless. To Doc she declared her desire to go for a walk. She assumed she was expected to get some sort of exercise. After the intravenous tube had been removed, she had been provided with hospital pajamas. They were too large for her, but she had to roll up the sleeves and legs for convenience.

Doc looked at her appraisingly. There was color in her cheeks. Though she seemed to fidget, she was calm.

"Just walk," he said. "If you have any problems, come back right away."

"Aff, Doc," she said. She walked in her bare feet out of sickbay. She seemed to wander aimlessly until she came to the elevator. As the door opened, a warrior exited. She stepped out of his way, ignoring his curious glance at her throat bandage and hospital attire. Entering the elevator, she pressed the top button on the diagram. She was not really sure she wanted to go to the observation gallery. If she changed her mind, she could always return.

Upon arrival, she stepped out onto the gallery deck. Through the glass she saw the bridge crew. Two of them were at a holo-display. Being exhibited was a computer generated image of the JumpShip, at least that is what Minh thought it was. She imagined that the different projections on the hull were sensors, booms, and DropShips. Attached with fine lines to the back of the ship was a circle with illuminated grid lines crosshatched on it. She realized that the men were involved in some fashion with the solar sail. She watched for several minutes, but she could detect no movement in the holo image. She walked around the gallery, looking at the other crewmen at work. None of them seemed to be doing more than watching instruments and scanners.

As before, it was much cooler in the gallery than in the rest of the ship. Her feet were cold. She stepped back until she felt the curved bulkhead against her back. She sank down, then crossed her legs, pressing the bottoms of her feet against her thighs. The chill penetrated the stiff cloth of her pajamas.

For a moment, she pondered her pajamas. Why were they made from such a coarse cloth? If she wanted to, she could have used them in the corn field of her family's farm. Remembering her family, she tried to look up. She could feel her neck stretch in warning. Turning sideways, she lay down and pillowed her head on her arms. In that position, she could look at the star supplying the JumpShip with energy. Her mind wandered. What were the planets over there like? Were there any human settlements? Was this a Clan-controlled jump point?

The elevator opened and she heard light footsteps. The elevator was on the other side of where she sat. Catching movement, she looked to find Stev Ch'in approaching. An AeroSpace Pilot, he was short, like Minh. And like Minh, he was of Asiatic descent. His head was larger than normal with his eyes wider apart. He stopped next to her, then waved down at the bridge.

"The officer of the watch called sickbay," He said as he sat next to her. "He saw you up here and asked Doc if he was missing any patients."

"Doc said I could go out," Minh said softly. "I came here to think."

"This is a good place to do that," Stev looked up at the star over them. "I went to sickbay to see you. You seem to have forgotten our arrangement after dinner."

"Aff," Minh admitted. There was silence in the gallery for a moment. "Nagatake would make a better example for you. You should listen to how he speaks."

"I heard the two of you talk yesterday," Stev said. "You both sounded natural."

Minh recalled the conversation and shivered. The cold metal deck was leeching the heat from her body.

"I speak like a woman," Minh explained. "Nagatake speaks like a man."

"I am not sure I follow," Stev sounded puzzled. His uncertainty emboldened her.

"I speak with inflections, with more than the proper emphasis my pronunciation requires," Minh demonstrated with a simple phrase. "You can hear the lilt in my voice."

"I thought that was normal," Stev said.

"Normal for a woman. Let me speak the way a man does," Minh repeated the phrase she used before. Her voice remained level and steady. Stev could hear the emphasis she had been talking about, but the pitch was gone. When she finished, she laughed.

"I am sorry," she said, stifling her humor. "I sounded silly."

"Not at all," Stev looked at her. He had never heard her laugh before.

"I think I will catch cold if I stay here too long," Minh said, trying to sit up. Stev held his hand to her. She looked at it for a moment, then placed her own in it and permitted him to pull her into a sitting position.

"I will walk you back to sickbay," Stev said. Minh nodded in agreement.

"Domo arigato gozaimasu," she thanked him formally.

"Do itashimashite," Stev said it was nothing. Reaching the elevator door, he pressed the button. "Speaking of Nagatake, I do not believe he would have much time to tutor me."

Minh looked at him inquiringly.

"He was promoted today," Stev explained. "He is in charge of the bondswomen now."

Minh recalled the bondswomen in their quarters. And the filth.

"That is not much of a promotion," she commented.

"For Nagatake, it is an improvement from what he had been doing," Stev chuckled. The elevator opened and they returned to sickbay.

xxXxxxXxx

"What provisions have you made for Minh?" the MechWarrior Salen asked. Her dark hair was tied in a single braid that hung down along her spine.

"What do you mean?" Doc replied.

"You did know that she gets jump sick, quaff?"

"Neg, I did not," Doc answered. "A little illness will not bother her."

"I am not talking about 'a little illness' here," Salen explained. "Minh gets very sick. Violently sick. You have been careful about the size of the food she eats. What happens when it comes back up all at once?"

Minh and Stev entered the sickbay at that moment.

"Did you have a nice trip to the bridge, Minh?" Doc asked sternly. "What did you do up there, collapse?"

"It was not the bridge," Minh explained. "I wanted to see the star, but it hurt my neck to look up. So I lay down."

"Well, go lay down in your bunk. I do not want you to waste your energy shivering when you should be using it for healing," Doc prescribed.

"Aff, Doc," Minh walked to her bunk.

"Stev, tell the doctor about Minh," Salen urged. "You were there when she almost ran me down to get to that sink. You know, when we jumped and she heaved her guts out."

"Thank you for reminding me of that," Stev said in a thankless tone. He looked over at Minh as she pulled the blanket over herself. "I am the wrong person you should be talking to about this."

"Aff, I suppose you are correct," Doc said. He walked over to Minh. "The ship will be making a hyper jump tomorrow. Is that going to cause you any distress?"

"So that is what they were doing," Minh murmured, remembering the two men at the holo. "They were retracting the solar sail."

"Minh, are you affected by hyper jumps?"

"I hate them," Minh responded with a shudder. "I see things. I hear noises. When it is over, I have to throw up. Knowing about the jump tomorrow, I do not think I will be able to sleep now."

Doc had watched the color leave her face when he first mentioned the jump to her. Her reaction after that was all he needed to be convinced of Salen's concern.

"Do not worry about it," he patted Minh on the top of her head in a paternal manner. "I have a plan. You will not feel a thing."

The next morning, after a fitful sleep, Minh was informed she would not be eating breakfast. Knowing about the jump, she did not have an appetite. Doc made her drink some water to keep her hydrated. An hour after she had arisen, Doc took her to the operating theater.

"Go ahead and lay down," he said.

Minh remembered the last time she lay on the table. She had been drugged and helpless. The cluster of lights over the table had seemed to be aimed at her face. Now that light was dormant, the filaments of each bulb dark. Doc spread a blanket over her.

"The plan is to let you sleep through the hyper jump," Doc explained. "If you do not consciously experience the maneuver, then you will not actively react to it."

"Aff, Doc," Minh said uncertainly.

"I am going to give you some gas. It will put you to sleep," Doc continued. "Everything will be okay."

Doc brought out a face mask attached to an elastic tube. He placed it over Minh's nose and mouth.

"Take deep breaths," he instructed her. "Count backwards from one hundred."

"One hundred. Ninety nine," Minh felt someone squeeze her hand through the blanket. Salen leaned over her face with a reassuring smile. There was someone beside her, just out of her range of vision. A large man. Was that Keen? Momentarily distracted, she lost track of her count. She was sure she had reached eighty something. She started over at one hundred again. She was not aware when she lost consciousness.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen looked down at Minh on the table. A medical monitor was hooked up her with contacts taped to her skin. An airtube ran into her mouth and down her airway. It made her sick to see a person, even a bondswoman, in this condition.

Salen pondered her perception of bondsmen. Until this time, she had regarded bondsmen as less than people, individuals who had yet to prove their worth. When she first encountered Minh, all she saw was a little girl who had clearly been outmatched on the field of battle. Someone who was that helpless deserved what she received. Only, Minh did not act helpless. It was true that she had been meek on the day of her capture. Later, when she had demonstrated a spark of defiance, Salen had been more than willing to lash it out of her. Despite that, it did not completely leave her. Was that why she was drawn to Minh? Was it that spirit, the willingness to face a more powerful opponent?

The warning tone sounded. Salen never really cared about hyper jumps one way or another. They just happened. All she noticed was that some of the individuals around her seemed to react in different ways. Some were momentarily dizzy. Others skipped the following meal. A few made obvious attempts to keep their bile down. This jump was different. This jump scared Salen, because of her concern for Minh. Doc joined her at the table as the ship went into hyper space.

Salen watched closely, waiting for the first sign of sickness. A heave of the chest. Stomach fluid being forced past the tube up the throat. She listened for the medical monitor to sound the alarm.

Nothing.

Doc looked at the instruments.

"Heart rate, brain wave, nervous system, everything normal," he said. "As far as her body is concerned, nothing has happened."

"I thought hyper jumps affected the inner ear," Salen said.

"They do," Doc said. "Some people are more sensitive than others to motion sickness. If I would guess, I would say Minh's problem is not in her inner ear. Her mind perceives things during hyper jumps, things that she cannot reconcile with in real space. The conflict disorients her and she gets spatial sickness."

"Spatial sickness," Salen repeated.

"She is stable," Doc took one last look at the monitor. "I will remove the respirator and contacts, then all she has to do is wake up on her own."

xxXxxxXxx

Salen remained on hand when Minh finally roused. As she sat up, she looked around, as if looking for someone.

"How do you feel?" Doc asked.

Minh tried to talk. She coughed and her eyes watered.

"Your throat is dry. I will get you some water," Doc stepped away.

Minh blotted her eyes dry on her sleeve, then took a deep breath. Doc quickly returned with a cup of water. Minh took a sip, then kept it in her mouth and let it trickle down gradually. On her second sip, she drank more water.

"I think I am okay," she said after that.

"You think?" Salen asked dubiously.

"A couple of times before I thought I made it through the jump without getting sick," Minh explained. "I got sick anyway."

"How long was the delay?" Doc asked.

"A few seconds, I think," Minh said carefully. "Except the first time."

"What happened the first time?" Doc asked.

"I fainted during the jump," Minh recalled. "I think it was because I was so terrified of what could happen. When I woke up, I knew I had been lying down for a while. After that, I was sick."

"Well, you have been awake for a few minutes now," Doc said. "It would appear that you will not be sick this time."

Minh took another breath, then shifted her legs over the side of the table and slipped to the deck. Her legs wobbled and Salen clutched her arm to steady her.

"I feel so light-headed," Minh reported.

"It is just the after effects of the sleeping gas," Doc explained. "Just go lie down and you will recover."

"Aff," Minh permitted herself to be guided to her bunk.

xxXxxxXxx

Over the next several days, Minh remained close to sickbay, not wandering very far like her trip to the gallery deck. Doc examined the stitches on her neck, then applied another bandage over the affected area. He decided to keep them in for a couple more days.

After the tutoring session with Stev that evening, Minh went for a walk. After several minutes, she found herself stopped outside of Keen's quarters. She lifted her hand to knock when she heard a laugh originating from behind the door. It was deep and full-chested. It sounded like Suni. Minh dropped her hand without touching the door. Nagatake's words came to mind.

'Stand up for yourself.'

"What am I standing up for?" she asked herself. She turned to walk away when she heard her name called. She turned back around and saw Salen.

"What are you doing here?" Salen asked her. "You are not supposed to be in this area without permission."

"I am walking," Minh said.

Salen looked at her, then at the door to Keen's quarters. Minh looked back, her dark eyes shielding her emotions.

"Well, permission or not, it does not matter," she said. "I wanted to talk to you anyway. Come with me." She guided Minh in the direction she had originally been going. After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination. Salen opened the door and bid Minh to follow.

It was apparent that these were Salen's quarters. They were similar to Keen's. There was a bunk on one side, and a desk and sink on the other. Beneath the bunk were lockers. Where Keen had a locker for his power armor, Salen had an extra bit of elbow room.

"Sit down," Salen pointed at her bunk and Minh obediently sat there. Salen sat at her desk, straddling the back of the chair so she could face Minh. "This has to remain between the two of us, quaff?"

"Aff," Minh sounded uncertain. Salen noticed that and waved at her in dismissal.

"It is nothing bad. What I want to know-," she paused, looking as uncertain as Minh had sounded. "Can you teach me how to speak Vietnamese? Is it very hard?"

"I do not know," Minh thought about it. "I have never had to teach anyone. I grew up speaking Vietnamese, so it seems natural to me."

"Stev Ch'in looks lost when you speak that language," Salen said. "I would enjoy knowing something he does not."

"You do not like him," Minh commented thoughtfully.

"Neg, I do not like feeling stupid," Salen said. "He is intelligent and witty, yet he respects you, a bondswoman." Salen noticed the quizzical look Minh gave her. "You cannot help being a bondswoman."

To Minh, it sounded like Salen was being condescending. That was oddly comforting to Minh. This was the Salen Minh was accustomed to. It brought to mind an old saying, 'better the enemy you know than the enemy you do not.' However, it did not seem right to label Salen as her enemy. The care she had demonstrated in sickbay was not the action of a foe.

"How old are you?"

"I am nineteen now," Minh answered. She was reasonably sure of that, assuming that it was the time of year she thought it was.

"You look younger than that," Salen observed. "But you seem much more mature."

"Having your comrades killed around you does that to a person," Minh related dryly.

"I do not think so," Salen disagreed. She looked at Minh with circumspection. "Is this a quality of farm girls?"

Minh reacted cautiously to the genuine interest shown by Salen.

"I do not know," she said. "I never really noticed such things then. As a woman I was not encouraged to explore such things."

"What difference does being a woman make?" Salen asked, puzzled.

"Where I come from, middle class women have few choices," Minh said. "My parents wanted me to have an arranged marriage."

"Middle class? Class is another word for caste, quaff?" Salen clarified.

"Aff, in the Draconis Combine, we have different castes," Minh said earnestly. "Just as you do in Clan Wolf."

"Just as _we_ do," Salen corrected the bondswoman. "You are Wolf Clan now."

"Aff," Minh submitted and was silent.

"You were middle caste," Salen prompted, wanting to get the smaller woman speaking again.

Minh thought for a moment.

"My parents wanted to seal relations with another family," Minh continued. "Another middle class family. Just as their parents had arranged for my mother and father unite their families."

"So you could only marry in middle class?" Salen asked.

"Not exactly," Minh realized she sounded vague. She explained. "The man my parents wanted me to wed was a MechWarrior. Warriors have a higher standing in society than the middle class."

"Warriors do not marry," Salen interjected. "It is the Way of the Clan."

"It is common in the Draconis Combine," Minh said with a bit of heat in her voice._ Why am I defensive?_ she asked herself.

"Being common, why did you not marry him?" Salen asked pointedly, reacting to Minh's subtle pique. "That would have been an improvement for you, quaff?"

"I did not love him," Minh said. "Such an arrangement would have interfered with my plan."

"What plan?"

"I wanted more out of my life than to tend house," Minh responded. "I wanted to get an education. I wanted to do something with my life. That is why I enlisted in the militia."

"The militia made you warrior caste?" Salen asked.

"The militia is not warrior caste," Minh explained. "The militia is made up of civilian-soldiers. As a caste, the militia would be equivalent to the worker caste, below middle class."

"I am confused," Salen said, then tried to make reason. "You have a warrior caste that is higher than the caste you are born into. You became a warrior, but you were not really a warrior, so you became lower caste."

Minh smiled in reply. Salen's features darkened.

"I should strike you for that!" Salen sputtered angrily. "You are joking with me."

"Neg, Salen," Minh shook her head gently. "That is my culture. For myself, my caste held no advantage for me, only hindrance. I joined the militia so I could earn an education."

"That is a mercenary attitude," Salen observed. "Not unlike offering your fighting service for financial gain."

"Aff, you are right," Minh lowered her face. This new insight came as a blow to Minh's self esteem. In the Draconis Combine, mercenaries were considered dishonorable. Mercenaries fought for money, not duty and honor. That was something she had not considered before. "I wanted payment for my enlistment. I am a mercenary."

"Was a mercenary," Salen said, seeing how dejected Minh became at that realization. "I remember hearing you call yourself a peasant. An 'uneducated peasant,' as I recall."

"My father worked me on the farm with the other laborers. He did not want to lord over the workers as if he were a noble," Minh explained. "That was a good thing. I learned to appreciate the work of their hands. The other workers saw the respect my father showed them by permitting me to work with them. I had learned to cultivate humility as well as corn. However, as a woman, it did not really matter to anyone else whether I learned or not."

"With all of the bowing you do, I can believe you learned humility," Salen noted. "But what is wrong with being a woman?"

"In many families, the eldest son inherits the family business. In my family, I am the eldest of two siblings, but my brother is the only son," Minh said. "As a female, I have no birth right. In arranged marriage, the advantage of our united families would fall to my husband and my brother. I am nothing. My hope was to make my own life meaningful."

"That does not sound humble," Salen said and was rewarded by a guilty look from Minh.

"I will work on it," Minh said solemnly, taking the comment as constructive criticism.

Salen snorted in suppressed laughter. Minh looked up curiously.

"I was really angry when I met you that first day," she said, looking serious again. "I realize now that it stemmed from the realization that our battle could have gone either way. I was overconfident when I engaged your tank with my Omni. I thought my ultra autocannon had finished your tank, but your armor was too thick. After my last shot, I thought I had knocked you out."

Minh listened to the candid discussion of their battle. It shocked her at a base level. After all, they had been trying to kill each other. That last shot Salen spoke of had killed Brenner, her driver. Now she sat on Salen's bunk as a guest.

"I discovered the hard way I had not defeated you. Without Keen's intervention, it could have become a defeat for me. I have never been defeated. I had always trusted my comrades to defeat their individual opponents, just as I defeated my own. It is the Clan Way."

Salen stopped talking and looked at Minh. Minh remained silent.

"You have been taken in by Clan Wolf, but not as my comrade. You are a bondswoman, not a warrior," Salen continued. "I do not even like you. I have never cared about anyone before, yet I seem to be confused about you."

Minh stared at Salen without speaking. She felt uncomfortable about the way the conversation was going.

"I do not know why I am talking like this," Salen admitted, a wary look coming over her face. "I have said too much."

"I am still under oath of silence," Minh said meaningfully.

"Aff," Salen said slowly. "No one knows-." She did not finish her thought. "I am finished with you for now. Leave."

Minh automatically rose at the abrupt dismissal. Conditioned to follow instructions, she silently departed Salen's quarters. From outward appearances, she seemed to be like an automaton. Her expression did nothing to betray her real thoughts as she found herself back in the passageway.

Salen had clearly been made uncomfortable by their conversation. That must have been the overriding reason for the sudden dismissal.

Minh was now confused by two acquaintances. She did not understand Keen because she rarely saw him. Salen bewildered her with contrary actions. This was not the same person who had held her hand and watched over her during the hyper space jump. Even before their first face to face encounter, the two women had been engaged in violent combat, each trying to kill the other.

She equated Salen as both an enemy and as a friend at the same time. What about the people from her own culture? Would Minh combat her old friends as enemies? Would she have to? Could she?

The root of the matter was that Minh was uncertain about her allegiance and ethical conduct.

With their technical superiority, she knew the Clans had the potential to win against the great houses. She had never heard of powered armor, much less imagined such things. What other surprises did they have? What could she do about it?

Despite her last conversation with Nagatake, she was unsure what she should do. The past several weeks had been an emotional roller coaster for her. Her sense of personal accomplishment on the training mat had given her a psychological high. The disgrace and self loathing that led to her suicide attempt were still present. She still had to come to grips with her activity with the Clan Wolf. Wasn't what she was doing treason? What was her motivation? What did she want for her life?

Minh was a bondswoman because Keen had chosen her. She had been training because Keen wanted her to. She had not seen him lately, but somehow knew he was looking in on her. She did not know how she knew, because she had not seen him since he saved her life in the gymnasium.

Minh found herself back in sickbay. Doc was busy tending to a crewman. The man had a broken finger and the doctor was setting it in a splint. After a cursory glance, she went to her bunk and sat on it with legs crossed. She stared off across the compartment, not seeing anything as her thoughts continued to whirl.

Doc finished with his patient and sent him on his way. Looking to Minh, he saw her lay down on her side and hug her knees to her chest. It was obvious to him that she was still troubled.

It was after lunch the next day that Minh decided to go to the gymnasium. She walked in and quietly sat against the bulkhead. She watched her point of Elementals train with Salen. Keen was explaining a technique to Salen, positioning her to guide her movements. As the two turned, he caught sight of Minh and paused. He said something to Salen and left her side. Before he could take more than a couple of steps in Minh's direction, Suni sidled up to him and spoke. Suni was a dusky-colored Elemental. She wore her pale hair in a crewcut. Minh could not hear them, but she could imagine the topic. The two talked for a moment, then Suni gave Minh an incredulous stare.

Suni watched Keen go toward Minh. Shaking her head in disbelief, she stepped to Salen.

"What does Keen see in that little mammal?" she asked Salen.

"I know not the mind of that Elemental," Salen said. She watched as Keen squatted down on his haunches before Minh. Salen could not help but notice the look on Minh's face. She seemed to bask in Keen's attention. Salen recalled when Minh awakened after the hyper jump. She had looked around, expecting to see someone else besides Salen and Doc. Then she remembered something else from the previous night. Minh had been standing outside of Keen's quarters, seemingly afraid to knock on the door. No, Keen's thoughts were surely his own, but Minh's expression made her sentiment as clear as crystal.

Minh looked up at Keen. Even sitting on his heels, he towered over her seated form. She did not flinch, but welcomed his scrutiny as he examined at her.

"You are behind schedule," Keen said finally. "Once I can get Doc to release you, you must catch up."

"Aff, Keen," Minh acknowledged.

"You must keep up your strength until then," Keen said after a moment of consideration. "Walk around the mat."

"Aff, Keen," Minh responded, picking herself up. Keen watched her stand, then stood up himself.

Salen watched the small woman in hospital pajamas rise and begin her circuit around the mat. When Keen turned, she noticed the bemused expression on his face. Minh strikes us both as puzzling, she thought.

Salen was as confused with Minh. She wanted to return to their old relationship, one which she was most familiar. Warrior and bondswoman. She did not want Minh to take advantage of her new feelings. That was why she had abruptly dismissed Minh from her quarters the night before. In addition, the main reason she had kept training with the Elementals was because Minh had become so efficient against her. She had to improve her proficiency. At least, that was the reason she gave herself.

xxXxxxXxx

Upon Minh's return to sickbay, Doc asked her what she had been doing. She felt sticky beneath her pajamas from her walk in the gymnasium. Without waiting for a reply, he directed her to sit on her bunk. After removing the bandage from her neck, he examined the progress of her healing wound. He said nothing, only nodded slowly. Then, with a pair of scissors, he clipped her sutures one by one. He pulled them out with tweezers. With each tug, Minh felt a sharp sting. She could not help feeling concerned that the joined skin would separate. When he finished, he cleaned the area and prepared another bandage, a thinner one this time. Minh stopped him.

"I want to see," she said.

Doc gave her a long look, then went to his counter and brought back a small mirror. She took it and held it up so she could see her neck. The puckered scar was scarlet, with matching dots running in parallel on each side where the stitches had been. The scar ran diagonally, almost in the center of her neck. After several moments, she gave the mirror back without speaking. Doc stared at her, as if he expected to see or hear something. With a shake of his head, he laid the mirror aside and applied the bandage.

"This is for the suppuration from the stitch holes and the scar," he explained. "I am probably wasting my breath, but be careful."

"Aff, Doc," Minh said with one slow nod.

"Keen has been badgering me every day to release you," Doc said. "I will let you go, but you will do no strenuous activity."

Doc's confirmation that Keen had been looking in on her filled Minh with delight. As she left sickbay, she remembered her need to wash the sticky sweat from herself. Arriving at the bunk room, she found the Elementals had not returned from their shower. Getting a complete change of clothes, she went down to the bondsman communal wash area. After washing and dressing, she returned to the bunk room. After pitching the hospital pajamas into her dirty clothes bin, she went to give the compartment a quick cleaning.

xxXxxxXxx

"Where is Minh?" Salen asked as she entered sickbay in the company of Keen and Stev Ch'in.

"I released her a while ago," Doc said.

"Then why are we here now?" Salen gave an exasperated wave of her arms.

"I wanted to talk to the three of you about Minh," Doc explained. He indicated the MechWarrior and Aerospace Pilot. "She is not your bondswoman, but since you spend time with her, you need to understand this, too."

Salen opened her mouth to say something, but Stev spoke up first.

"What is wrong with Minh?" he asked carefully.

"I thought she was all right now," Salen looked at Stev, then at Doc.

"The first item I wanted to discuss is her physical recovery," Doc said. "I let Minh out of sickbay a few days early. I ordered her not to perform any strenuous activity. The way things have been going with her, I do not want to see her in here any sooner than I have to."

"Strenuous activity?" Keen asked.

"No fighting. No arduous training. No activities that will stress her neck," Doc explained.

"Somehow I think you released Minh for her own good," Stev said. "Otherwise you would have kept her under your control."

"Despite my better judgment," Doc said. "I am concerned about her mental well being. That is one area I cannot control. A person does not just return to normal after a trauma like hers, especially after having been forced to change her mind set. You do not do something like that and then go on with your life. Like the body, the mind can become scarred. You can try to ignore them, but they never go away."

"If you are worried that she is crazy, then why did you release her?" Salen demanded.

"Keeping her in sickbay only isolates her from normal everyday activities," Doc waved at the empty bunks. "She does not talk like she used to, not to me. I have tried to engage her in conversation, but all she ever says is 'aff' and 'neg.' She thinks too much. She needs activity to occupy her mind again, to give her something to do."

"Minh has opened up," Salen said. "She is talking to me."

"But she is holding back with me," Stev stated, visibly surprised by Salen's statement.

"She is introverted. She should not be allowed to withdraw into herself," Doc remembered when he saw her hug her knees to herself. "Draw her out."

"She has always been peculiar. She bows and scrapes all the time. A cultural thing, I think," Salen says. "The women of her culture are repressed. Seriously repressed."

"Bond with her," Doc instructed her. "Engage her mental faculties. She is an intelligent woman. Take advantage of that."

Salen opened her mouth to say that she had already arranged to learn Vietnamese from Minh. Before she could say anything, she saw Stev and remembered that she wanted to keep that a secret. She closed her mouth again. Stev smiled, as if amused._ Go ahead, you can think I am an idiot that cannot express herself_, she thought furiously. _One day, I will surprise you_.

"Think of Minh as many people, with many personalities," Doc said, oblivious to the nonverbal interplay between Salen and Stev.

"Is she schizophrenic, Doctor?" Stev asked.

"Not in the clinical sense. Like Salen said, it is her culture, the way she was brought up," Doc explained. Salen looked surprised at his favorable comment. "Minh is trying to reason, but she needs social interaction. I have patched her up on the outside. I can tell her to be well on the inside, but I can only do so much," Doc said. "She lights up around you, Salen."

"She _really_ lights up around Keen," Salen said, instantly regretting her impulsive comment when Keen regarded her.

"I would suggest that you continue to show interest in her," Doc said, drawing Keen's attention from Salen, much to her relief.

"I joked with her about her lack of humility, but she took my criticism seriously," Salen admitted.

"Did she know you were joking?" Doc asked, "She is the most humble person I know. She can be very critical of herself. Do not forget that she has had a nervous breakdown. Do not play with her mind. Keep an eye out for irrational conduct."

"Irrational conduct?" Salen sounded the words out as if she had never heard them before. "Minh is anything but normal."

"Anything unMinh-like," Doc clarified.

"UnMinh-like? Is that a word?" Salen asked.

"How would you describe her in one word?" Doc challenged.

"Mature," Salen said without a moment's consideration.

"I would normally agree with you," Doc said grudgingly. "Right now she is unstable, no longer herself, so to speak."

"What do you want us to do?" Keen asked.

_Trust an Elemental to cut to the heart of the matter_, Doc thought.

"Watch her. I released her to keep her busy. She should not have too much time to dwell by herself," Doc directed the instruction to all three. Then he looked at Keen. "Minh has a high metabolism and needs her sleep. She must eat every meal she can. She does not have the fat reserves in her body to permit her to miss many meals, especially with the intensive training she will be undergoing again. For now, she needs to keep her energy up so she will heal."

xxXxxxXxx

When the Elementals returned to the bunk room at dinnertime, Minh had just finished compartment cleaning. Keller had been the first through the door, so he saw her first. He tousled her hair, much like an adult would with a child, as he welcomed her back to the bunk room. As the other Elementals surrounded her, Minh was oddly gratified by the attention.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen and Minh sat on the mat in the gymnasium. Keeping her back straight, Minh stretched her legs apart. With her hands planted behind her, she tried to roll her pelvis forward. With her eyes closed, she held her pose.

_She is really limber_, Salen thought. _I wonder if her small size has anything to do with it? _She wanted to get Minh talking.

"I saw you look at Keen."

Minh gave a guilty start, her eyes opening wide. Salen could not have thought of anything better to say. Apparently, the remark had hit a nerve.

"Keen moves with excellent form," Minh said carefully, sounding cautiously neutral.

"I would think Stev Ch'in is more your speed."

As if shutters closed over her face, her expression blanked. With lips pursed shut, Minh looked away.

_That was a dumb thing to say_, Salen thought. _I should not have said that_.

"Is it more than an appreciation of style?"

Minh gave a quiet sigh. Without moving her head, she turned her eyes to Salen.

"I think I am attracted to him," Minh said in an uncertain voice.

"But," Salen prompted her.

"It is inappropriate-," Minh paused, stumbling over her words. Her face began to heat up in embarrassment.

"What is inappropriate?" Salen asked. A part of her enjoyed the emotional distress she was witnessing. She hoped it would not lead to another nervous breakdown.

"An unmarried woman should not-," Minh started again, then stopped, raising a hand to her face. "Warriors do not marry, but they will-." Minh's voice trailed off.

"What will warriors do?" Salen probed.

"Physical intimacy," Minh mumbled through her hand.

"Physical intimacy?" Salen spoke a bit louder than Minh, noting the alarmed look in her eyes. It was obvious she was worried that the Elementals would overhear the conversation. "Oh, you mean coupling!"

Batiste and Keller looked over at the two women. Minh's face grew darker. Covering her face with both hands, she slowly leaned forward onto the mat.

"How do you do that?" Salen marveled at the way Minh had kept her legs spread out while she lay bent over.

Minh shook her head, not understanding the question.

"How can you bend yourself down like that?"

"I have always been flexible," Minh's voice sounded faint.

"Do not do that. Everyone is watching," Salen said in a teasing tone, observing the truth of her words. Batiste looked questioningly at Salen. She waved him away.

"So _that_ is what is bothering you," Salen said, taking pity on Minh.

"Among other things," Minh said.

"You are sexually repressed," Salen said bluntly. Minh responded by covering her ears. She obviously did not want to discuss what she considered a sensitive subject in such a public area.

Salen touched Minh's shoulder and the bondswoman straightened up, her hands uncovering her ears to push against the mat. Minh looked at Salen through narrowed eyelids. Salen just stared back.

"You are mean," Minh said in a quavering voice.

"I know," Salen said in an unusually sweet tone. Unable to keep a straight face, she laughed.

Minh's lips quivered for a moment, then she giggled. She lowered her face to the mat again.

"Stop that," Salen pulled her up. "You will hurt yourself."

Minh remained face down on the mat until she had composed herself, then sat up and stretched her legs out in front of her. Salen continued to speak, her voice lower.

"You want Keen."

"I-," Minh tried to speak, looking at Salen. She looked down at her knees. "I desire him. I believe he desires me, but I do not know. I hardly know him. I know he is capable of taking me for his physical satisfaction. That is, if he wanted to. It would be wrong for me to encourage him."

"Why is it wrong?"

"It is not done," Minh explained. "Unmarried women do not surrender their honor."

"Honor?"

"Their virtue."

"Minh, we do not think of it that way. Clan warriors do not attach such importance to a simple act."

"It is not so simple for me."

"I know," Salen saw Minh look at her. "As for myself, I do not engage in coupling. It is nothing to me, so I do not do it. Talk to Keen. Explain how you feel. He will respect your directness."

"Tell him I like him but I do not want to share his bed out of wedlock?"

"Wedlock," Salen repeated. "You use many strange expressions. Well, here is your opportunity."

Minh looked where Salen indicated. Keen had entered the gymnasium and noticed Minh's wide-eyed countenance.

"You must be prepared to do what you have to do," Salen braced Minh. "Here and now or anytime."

Minh looked at Keen. Salen could see her resolve solidify. She drew her feet back and stood smoothly. With light steps that concealed her inner turmoil and trepidation, Minh went to Keen. Stopping before him, she stared downward.

"Keen, I need to speak to you," she said softly.

"When you speak to a warrior," Keen cupped Minh's chin with a curved forefinger, "you must show your face to display the truth of your words." He raised her face. She could see into the depth of his eyes and for a moment, she seemed to lose herself.

Salen could not hear them speak. She watched Minh talk, looking downward. Keen touched her chin gently, raising it while speaking to her. He released her and she stood still for several moments. Hesitantly, she began speaking. Keen gave a slow nod as she paused. Encouraged, Minh continued, then was silent as Keen responded. He did not speak long. When he finished, Minh said something, then bowed to him with her hands in front of her thighs. When she straightened, she noticed Salen watching them. She turned squarely to Salen and bowed to her as well. After that, she proceeded to run her laps around the gymnasium.

Keen turned to his point of Elementals. The four men had watched the interaction between their point commander and his bondswoman. Like Salen, they had been out of earshot. Keen stared at them until they found something better to occupy themselves. Movement caught his eye and he saw Salen rise from the mat. He let a smile touch his lips, then he returned to his point.

Salen fell into step beside Minh.

"That was not so hard," she commented.

"Things are so complicated," Minh risked a sidelong glance at Salen. "Perhaps I made matters worse."

Salen recalled Minh's remark 'among other things.' Whatever was still bothering Minh could wait, she decided. They ran on in companionable silence.

Minh wondered if her feelings for Keen were affecting her loyalty to the Draconis Combine. What about her new friendship with Salen? She was starting to feel comfortable around her. Was that wrong? The only answer was the sound of their feet padding against the mat.

xxXxxxXxx

"Don't tell Minh!"

Doc heard the cry before he saw the two people enter his sickbay. Nagatake supported a woman taller than he was.

"Keep your voice down, Katya," he hissed at her.

Doc rushed over to them, concerned that something had happened to Minh. Then he got a closer look at Katya. It was apparent that she had been savagely beaten. Her face was purpled and bruised, blood leaking from her nose and lips. One arm clutched her side as she hugged Nagatake with her other arm. She limped painfully.

"What happened?" Doc demanded.

"A fight between bondswomen," Nagatake said.

"Don't let Minh find out!" Katya wailed deliriously.

"Sh!" Nagatake hushed her.

"Where is the other bondswoman?" Doc asked.

"This is my responsibility. I will take care of her," Nagatake said.

"What does this have to do with Minh?"

"Vera will kill Minh! Don't let her find out!" Katya said.

"Vera wants to draw Minh out of hiding," Nagatake said. "I suppose she figured that hurting Katya would do that." He looked carefully around the sickbay, obviously looking for Minh.

"I released her this afternoon," Doc said, understanding his unspoken concern.

"Minh was hurt? No wonder we have not seen her around," Katya gasped as she stumbled. "Is she all right?"

"Yes, and you will be, too," Doc promised.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was sound asleep when Batiste roused her.

"Go take a walk, Minh," he instructed her.

Minh awoke to find the Elementals also rising. Keller had brought Suni to the bunk room. Minh pulled on her jumpsuit and shoes. As she entered the common area on her way out the door, Suni laughed. The throaty sound was oddly pleasant to the ear.

"You can stay, if you wish, little one," she said. "You might learn something."

Minh felt her face warm up. She quickly turned away, shielding the side of her face with her hand to block further eye contact.

Out in the passage, she watched the Elementals walk away. She silently debated whether to follow after them. Batiste had instructed her to take a walk, so it was obvious she was not expected to accompany them.

It was night on the JumpShip and there were not many places she could think to go. The idea of waiting outside of the bunk room, knowing that illicit behavior was occurring within, made her feel uncomfortable. She had to go someplace. Not knowing where else to go, Minh went to sickbay. It was quiet there, no activity at all. Minh entered and lay on a bunk near the door.

"Who is that?" Doc called from somewhere in the darkened compartment.

"Minh," she replied.

"Are you in need of medical attention?" Doc asked. His voice sounded oddly discourteous and unwelcoming.

"I am sleepy," Minh said.

"Sleep in your own bed," Doc called. "Sickbay is for my patients."

Minh rose from the bunk. She looked through the compartment and saw a huddled form in a dark bunk. She kept her silence so as not to further disturb the patient.

Minh found her way to the gymnasium. It was dark. She entered and lay on the mat in a far corner. She had no sooner closed her eyes when the light snapped on. A MechWarrior stood glaring at her in the doorway.

"You lazy bondswoman! Get back where you belong! If I find you shirking again, I will take an electro-lash to you!" he yelled at her.

As Minh walked out of the gymnasium, she seriously considered the threat. At least then she would have a place to sleep in sickbay. She wandered down to the bondsman deck. She did not care to go to the bondswomen's bunk room. Perhaps Colin was still awake. Maybe he would let her lie on a bag of clothes in the laundry. Instead, she found several bondsmen lined up outside the eating area. A tech was in charge of them.

"Are you busy?" he asked her.

"I am looking for a place to sleep," Minh said, knowing there was no correct answer to his question.

"Very funny," the tech sounded exasperated. "Get in line."

Minh joined the line. She recognized one of the bondsmen by sight. He had been one of the men who associated with Colin.

"You are Minh, quaff?"

"Aff," Minh nodded.

The bondsmen were marched to the elevator. In groups they were sent down. Minh was in the last group with the tech in charge of it. They arrived in engineering. Other techs had already put the other bondsmen groups to work.

"I have a special job for you," the tech gave her a flat piece of metal bent in the shape of an L. Each end was sharpened. "This paint scraper will keep you awake."

With her small size, she could fit in the tight spaces behind the equipment to remove paint. As she went to work against the thick layers of paint, she wondered how these men had managed to apply the paint in the first place. Proceeding deeper, she discovered a bare spot behind an obstructing pipe. It occurred to Minh that the paint had been sprayed.

Minh experimented with the simple tool. Some places proved too difficult for her to scrape. She found she could use the tool like a hammer, tapping at stubborn paint in corners and in the joints of piping. As she worked, she discovered another side effect of paint chipping. Bits of paint flew into her hair and face. Paint chips fell down into her collar. They worked up into the sleeves and pant legs of her jumpsuit. She stopped several times, encouraging her eyes to tear up to get chips out.

Her elbows and knees hurt from supporting herself on the metal areas she was working in. She bumped her head a few times against protruding equipment and pipes.

When Minh returned to her bunk room in the morning at the end of the shift, the Elementals were rising.

"Where have you been?" Batiste asked.

"Working," Minh sounded sullen. She was covered with dirt, grease, and paint chips. She pulled clean clothing from her locker, then went to the bondsman communal cleaning area to wash herself.

After eating breakfast, she returned to the bunk room. She looked at her bunk, still unmade from the previous night. She wanted to go to sleep, but resisted the temptation. She did not dare lay down. The last thing she wanted was trouble, especially Elemental-sized trouble. After she made her bunk, she cleaned the compartment. It was after she cleaned Keen's quarters that she returned to her bunk and lay down for a nap.

After lunch, Minh was oblivious to her surroundings. Batiste left her to sleep.

"She is obviously too exhausted to train today," Batiste decided. "With her inexperience, she will only get hurt."

"You sound just like Keen," Keller commented. "That would be his point of view. You do not really believe that small girl can become one of us?"

"Minh has heart," Batiste admitted, repeating Keen's phrase. Oddly enough, he was starting to believe it.

It was supper time when Batiste tried to wake her. Minh sat up, her eyes blinking as she shifted herself. She discovered that it was easier for her to leave her eyes closed than fight to keep them open. Yes, she would let her eyes rest. She succumbed to slumber once more, sprawling face first at the foot of her bunk. She was still asleep when Stev Ch'in arrived for his tutoring.

"Is Minh all right?" he asked, concerned.

Keller rose from where he sat in the common area and joined Stev. Minh still lay with her head at the foot of her bunk, her short hair shrouding her face. He bent over her, peering at her carefully.

"She is breathing," he said after a long moment. He straightened up and went back to his seat.

"Minh had a long night," Batiste explained. "Someone put her to work. She was a real mess when she returned this morning. She has been asleep all afternoon."

Stev touched Minh on her shoulder. He felt her twitch.

"Minh," he said.

Rousing, Minh looked at him uncomprehendingly.

"It is that time," he said.

Taking a deep breath, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Then she started to remove her shoes.

"Minh, what are you doing?" Stev asked.

Minh looked up, surprised to see Stev standing by her bunk. Her face flushed.

"When you put your shoe back on, we can go," he instructed her.

Minh complied. Standing carefully, she followed him. As she passed through the common area, she noticed Keller smirking at her. Once out in the passageway, she took her place beside Stev. Her stomach growled.

"Have you eaten?" Stev asked.

"I had breakfast," Minh said.

"Breakfast was hours ago," Stev looked at her. Her porcelain skin looked paler than usual. He remembered Doc's instructions. Minh needed to keep her energy reserves up. "Come with me."

_Where else would I go?_ Minh wondered to herself. Stev took her to an office. He handed her a pen and clip board.

"No one will question your presence with me here in warrior country. Whatever I say or do, make it seem important," he said. He led her further into warrior country, where she soon found herself in the warrior galley. Though it was after dinnertime, the cook was still working. She noticed that this cook, like Doc and the techs she had seen, were older men, over thirty years of age at least. In contrast, the warriors were younger, at most in their mid-twenties.

"I am here to inspect the rations," Stev said autocratically.

"The officer of the day already has done so," the cook said, unimpressed. He briefly regarded Minh, then dismissed the bondswoman as unimportant.

"Surprise inspection," Stev recovered nimbly. "I am here to see how well prepared you are for preparing cold rations."

"Cold rations?" the cook repeated dubiously.

"Just in case of a battle casualty to the galley power," Stev explained. "We have to know you will still be able to feed us."

Minh jotted what Stev had been saying. Hearing the scratching of the pen, the cook looked down at her.

"What is that?" he asked. "I cannot read it."

Stev looked at what Minh had written.

"Abbreviations," he explained.

"Abbreviations? Abbreviations of what? That does not look like anything I said," the cook declared.

"It is her own code," Stev said.

Actually, it was Vietnamese script, not code. Known as 'tieng Viet', it had formerly been called 'Quoc Ngu' centuries before in Vietnam on the Terran home planet. It was easier for her to use than the written scripts used in Japanese, the official language of the Draconis Combine.

Minh felt caught out by her blunder. If she had not been so tired, she would have written her notes in English. She lowered her eyes to hide her uncertainty. Then her stomach grumbled. In the quiet galley, it sounded as loud as a gunshot.

"Do not tell me that was you," the cook said.

Minh was about to respond, then her mouth snapped shut. Stev laughed because she had taken him literally.

"Minh is the test subject," Stev explained.

"I see. Come over to the pantry," the cook gestured for them to follow. He led them through a doorway to another compartment. It was smaller than the galley.

It seemed odd to Minh that there would be a separate room. Then she thought about it. The galley was mainly for food preparation and cooking. The pantry served more as a place for refrigeration and storage.

"Close the door and lock it," the cook said to Stev. "I do not want anyone to walk in on us right now."

With the three of them in the pantry, it was a tight fit. To one side was a counter. On the other was a refrigerator. At the opposite end from where they had entered was a door to a walk-in freezer.

"This will not work," the cook said. He had attempted to open the refrigerator, but he was on the wrong side of the door. With the door open, only Stev and Minh would be able to have access to the interior. The logical thing to do would be to let Minh squeeze past him. Instead, he reached under her arms and lifted her up so she could sit on the metal counter.

"Is that sanitary?" Stev asked, looking pointedly at where Minh sat.

"Is this a readiness inspection or a cleanliness inspection?" the cook made it sound like Stev had a choice.

"Hmm. Readiness," Stev winked at Minh. "He would not serve us food at a cleanliness inspection."

Minh noticed the ease with which the cook conducted himself in Stev's presence. She assumed the two men had an arrangement. From what she had seen from the warrior culture, Stev should have been able to demand food without resorting to this subterfuge. It almost seemed like a game.

The cook turned and opened the refrigerator. He withdrew a stainless steel container and placed it on the counter with a solid bang. From a cabinet he found a foil-wrapped bundle. Placing it together with the container, he opened a drawer and pulled out a knife and cutting board. He opened the foil to reveal an oblong oval of bread. One end had already been cut away at an oblique angle. He placed it on the board. Following the angle, he cut two pieces off. Laying them flat on the bare counter, he put the rest of the bread back in the foil. Then he twisted the lid from the container to reveal a slender slab of meat. Placing the meat on the board, he peeled horizontal strips.

"Is that real meat?" Stev asked.

"This is freeze-dried meat from the deep stores," the cook explained. "I rehydrated it."

Minh made delicate sniffing sounds. The cook looked at her.

"It smells good?" he asked. Minh nodded. Deftly, he cut a small piece and handed it to her. She took it and placed it in her mouth. Her eyes closed to slits as she swooned with pleasure.

"Are you all right?" the cook asked. Minh looked back at him, surprised. "I have never seen anyone's eyes roll up like that before."

Silently, Minh chewed slowly, savoring the experience. It had been months since she had eaten any solid meat. She did not know what animal it was from, whether a cow or a similar herd animal.

"I am actually sorry I am not hungry," Stev said, watching Minh's reaction.

"I suppose you want a sandwich, too?" the cook asked as he placed the strips of meat between the two pieces of bread.

"I had better not," Stev said after a moment of thought. "I do not want to outgrow my flight suit."

The cook handed the sandwich to Minh, who accepted it with both hands. Thanking him, she held it up, then paused when she noticed the look on Stev's face.

"Bite?" she offered, self-consciously aware that he would watch her eat. Stev smiled in refusal, holding up his hand with the palm out.

Minh took a tentative bite, relishing the sweet taste of the bread. The cook watched her for a moment, a look of anticipation and satisfaction on his face. Then he closed the meat container. Minh noticed him do a curious thing. He pulled the container to him until the bottom lost contact from the counter. Magnetic attraction, Minh guessed as she took another bite. It made sense. This was a space ship, she thought. It also explained why the container banged the counter. The magnet in the bottom of the container had been attracted to the metal counter.

The cook put the meat and bread away, then brought out a sealed metal bottle and a cup. He did not place the bottle on the counter. He twisted open the spout and poured a white liquid into the cup.

"I do not recall powdered milk being on the menu for battle rations," Stev commented.

"It is not, twice," the cook chuckled cryptically. "Here, wash some of that down with this." He offered the cup to Minh.

Minh took a cautious sip at first, then a longer one.

"It is fresh," she said, sounding surprised. That explained the cook's comment. It was not on the menu. It was not powdered milk. It was not, twice.

"Where did you get fresh milk?" Stev asked. "We have not had a fresh food run for weeks."

"It is goat milk," the cook explained. "The storekeeper is holding a couple goats for me."

"No doubt he gets his share of milk," Stev said.

"Warriors get glory and fame," the cook said lightly. "We get fresh milk."

Stev laughed.

Minh found the feeling of contentment steal over her. She finished the sandwich as the two men bantered back and forth. The milk was delicious. She had heard that warm milk was good for inducing sleep. Perhaps the milk, though cold, had contributed to her slumber. She did not remember getting off of the counter.

xxXxxxXxx

"Minh."

She heard Batiste's voice. She became aware of the blanket that she had clutched up tightly around her neck.

"Keen wants you to eat," Batiste announced.

"I just ate," Minh mumbled sleepily, recalling the sandwich and goat's milk. It suddenly occurred to her that she was not sitting on the counter. She quickly sat up, the blanket falling off. "I am here!" she exclaimed in confusion.

"Obviously!" Keller laughed from his side of the compartment. It was morning and the Elementals were rising.

Minh tried to remember what she had been doing last. She recalled feeling comfortable, listening to Stev Ch'in and the cook. She must have fallen asleep after finishing the milk. She did not remember leaving the pantry. She felt very warm and saw that she still wore her jumpsuit. Stepping out of bed, she saw that her feet were bare. Stev must have carried her back and put her to bed. That realization brought additional heat to her face, compounded by the fact that Batiste was still standing over her. She could smell her own sleep scent. It bothered her more this morning because she had not washed the night before.

"I must wash," she said quickly, turning from Batiste to get clean clothes.

Keen arrived in the bunk room after breakfast. Minh expected him to comment on her absence from the previous day's physical training. Instead, he silently regarded her. There seemed to be nothing personal in the analytical way he was looking at her.

"Go to sickbay," he said finally. "Have Doc check your readiness for training."

"Aff, Keen," Minh departed on her task.

Minh entered sickbay. As usual, it was quiet. However, sitting at the counter was a patient. Minh assumed it was the same one that had been sleeping in sickbay the other night. She did not see Doc right away. As Minh came closer, she could see that the patient, a woman, had opened a canvas bag and was sorting through the contents. She was following a list, taking out items and setting them aside in whatever order the list described them. Minh quickly figured out that the woman was taking inventory of the first aid bag. Curious, Minh stepped closer.

The woman jumped as she noticed Minh beside her. Minh opened her mouth to apologize for startling the woman, then closed her mouth again. She recognized the woman.

Katya stared back at her, in startlement and fear. Both of her eyes were puffy with bruises. Her lips were cracked and her cheek was swollen. One of her hands was splinted and swathed in bandages.

At an instinctive level, Minh knew what had happened to Katya. Vera had beaten Katya. Knowing Katya, it had been an undeserved attack. From Minh's limited contact with Katya, she had seen that the woman shrank from physical confrontation. Of course, she had once stood up to Vera in Minh's defense. No, from the savage look of the injuries, Vera had intended the beating for Minh. From Katya's expression, she was certain that Vera had intended for Minh to get the message.

Fire seemed to settle in Minh's gut, filling her with a resolve she had not felt in months. Katya could see the cold look in her eyes as she turned to leave sickbay.

"Minh, no!"

Doc had been at his desk when he heard Katya's call. He looked up from the morning report he was working on.

"Minh, come back here!" he ordered. Minh ignored him. Doc fumbled with a protective cover that concealed a button on his desk. These controls were placed strategically around sickbay. He pressed the button. An alarm sounded.

Minh had almost reached the door when a partition swiftly slammed shut in front of her. She stopped, but did not turn around. It was a quarantine barricade. Inset at chest level was a numeric key pad. The alarm stopped a moment after it initially sounded.

"Open the door, Doc," Minh said quietly, staring at the barrier in front of her.

"Where are you going, Minh?" Doc asked. He stood up and walked slowly over to her.

"What Vera did was wrong," Minh explained, her voice sounding almost sensible. "Vera is a bully. A bully is a coward who only hurts those who cannot defend themselves. Let me out of here."

"Vera will kill you!" Katya said.

"Vera does not have the nerve," Minh said contemptuously. "She hurt you because she could not hurt me."

"What are you going to do?" Doc asked.

"What has to be done," Minh answered. "Unlock this door."

"You cannot do this," Doc said as he faced her from the side. Minh did not look at him. "It is not your place. Nagatake has taken care of the situation."

"Vera will not stop here. When you release Katya, it will happen again," Minh said. "Open this door now."

_Minh certainly is single-minded_, Doc thought. "I will not release Katya."

"Doc wants me to work with him," Katya explained, standing on Minh's other side.

"Katya is a very organized person," Doc said.

"Open-," Minh choked on the phrase. She looked at Katya, then Doc in disbelief.

"I wasn't always scatterbrained and lazy," Katya said in a low voice. "I was afraid to be different from the other bondswomen. The rest of them took their lead from Vera. I just stopped caring."

"Katya will not be going back there," Doc said. "I promise you that."

Minh stared at Doc, probing him with her dark eyes.

"Nagatake is in charge of this matter," Doc said. "Give him a chance."

Minh narrowed her eyes. There was a long moment of silence.

"Very well, Doc," she said at last.

"Do not go looking for Vera," Doc continued. "Promise me that."

"Aff, Doc. I promise I will not go looking for Vera," Minh said after a moment of silence. "But I will defend myself if she comes looking for me."

"That will not be a problem if you stay out of the bondsmen area," Doc said.

"I am a bondswoman," Minh said. "That is where I have to go to eat and wash."

"I thought they got you out of there!" Doc exclaimed.

"I do not live there. I bunk with Keen's point," Minh explained. "However, I am forbidden from using the warrior facilities."

"Just stay clear of Vera," Doc instructed, shaking his head. "You have been my guest here too many times."

"I will not hide from her," Minh declared seriously. "Open the door. Now."

She spoke that final word in a soft voice. Soft, but with the steel of command.

"I have your promise," Doc reached for the key pad on the door.

"I will not go after Vera. On this, I give you my word," Minh pledged. Doc stared at her, his need for assurance evident in his expression.

"On my honor," Minh confirmed her pledge.

Doc shielded the key pad from Minh's view with one hand while he pressed the combination with the other. There was a brief chirping noise, then the door slid sideways into the bulkhead. Without further word, Minh walked out of sickbay.

"Did she say why she was here?" Doc asked.

Katya shook her head.

Minh found herself shaking with agitation. She realized that it was a stress reaction. She had been prepared to find and fight Vera. Now she was honor bound not to fight. She did not pay attention to where her feet were taking her until she had stopped at the doorway to the gymnasium. Inside were several men and women engaged in hand-to-hand combat. She assumed they were MechWarriors. She watched them for a few minutes, thinking about her promise. She was honor bound not to fight Vera.

None of these people were Vera.

Minh entered the gymnasium, stopping just inside the doorway. No one noticed her at first. She adopted an aggressive stance, folding her arms in front of her chest and shifting her weight onto one leg. As she stared through the group on the mat, she knew they could not help but perceive her arrogance. She did not have long to wait.

One man threw another over his shoulder, then performed a finishing move, stopping well short of contact. Straightening, he stepped past his opponent to look at Minh.

"You do not belong in here!" he yelled.

She remembered him from the previous night. This was the MechWarrior that had threatened to electro-lash her when she attempted to find a place to sleep in this very room. It would seem that there was such as thing as poetic justice, she decided with a savage satisfaction.

"I am here now," Minh lowered her arms and stepped onto the mat toward him.

"Get out of here!" he waved his hand at her in dismissal. "I will not sully my hands on the likes of you."

"Of course not," Minh said with false sweetness, a mocking smile on her lips. "Your kind would only use the lash against me instead. Perhaps you can get one of your friends to hold me down so you can whip me."

"Are you going to let her talk to you like that, Rick?" someone demanded.

The man Rick stared at her, surprised that a bondswoman would be so fearless in a room full of warriors. The other warriors stopped their training and watched.

"If I were you, I would get someone to back me up, too," Minh turned away from the man. "You are not that impressive!" Minh was counting on the notion that turning her back would be seen as an insult. She was not disappointed. She heard the rapid footfalls as Rick charged her back. She turned back, her side to her adversary and kicked a leg out. The man took it in his gut, bending over as he tried to keep his balance. Minh was sent sprawling, but she leaped back up, her hands clasped together in a fist. She swung hard, striking Rick at the temple. He fell to the mat and did not move.

"That was too easy," she said derisively.

"You think? Try me," another man stepped up.

xxXxxxXxx

"Batiste, I heard your little pet is waxing the Bravo Nova pilots," Suni met Batiste and the rest of the point in the passageway. "I thought you might want to watch."

Mystified, the point accompanied Suni to the gymnasium. There they saw that Minh was indeed taking down opponents. A star's worth of MechWarriors sat or lay in the sidelines among a ring of spectators. Minh avoided being kicked and attempted to grasp the offensive leg for a throw. The man twisted away, only to find himself in a wrist throw. As he went down, Minh clipped him neatly at the base of the skull with the edge of her hand. The MechWarrior landed with a limp thud, motionless for a moment. Groggy, he picked himself up and left the ring.

"We did not teach her that," Keller said. "I did not know she could do that."

"She has been watching us," Batiste said. He watched as Minh eliminated another MechWarrior. "The little fool is leaving herself open." He stepped toward the ring as another MechWarrior challenged Minh.

"This is our session, Batiste," the MechWarrior had noticed his approach. "Find your own bondswoman."

Minh turned her head and noticed her point of Elementals for the first time. Batiste could see the fire in her dark eyes. Anger had sharpened her features. He was determined to put a stop to her madness before she hurt herself, or more exactly, one of the MechWarriors saw through her sloppy technique and hurt her. He continued to advance into the ring of MechWarriors.

"Wait your turn, Batiste!" Minh snapped as she realized his intent to interfere with her. Batiste heard the anger in her voice. Anger and something else. Something totally unexpected. The ring of command. That a woman with a bond cord on her wrist would speak to him in such an inappropriate manner automatically set him to rage. The MechWarrior who was to face Minh raised his hands and stepped back, yielding the fight to the Elemental.

Batiste did not stop in his stride to the bondswoman. He saw no sign of fear, but only determination as she faced him. Instead of waiting for his approach, she charged, keeping herself low as she came at him from his right side. It was obvious she wanted to keep out of arms reach while she tried to knock him off his feet. Batiste spun himself counterclockwise, dropping himself into a crouch as he held his arm out. The palm of his hand struck Minh on the crown of her head with a loud smacking noise. Her momentum carried her legs out in front of her as she fell senselessly. In no condition to catch herself, she hit the mat hard.

"What was that?" one of the MechWarriors demanded. "That happened so fast."

"You are really adept at throwing her to the mat," Keller commented. "You did not break her this time, did you?"

"Neg," Batiste knelt down and opened her almond-shaped eyes. "She is not concussed."

"What did you do to make her so mad?" Keller asked the group of warriors surrounding them.

"We did not do anything. She walked in here that way," a seated MechWarrior said. He had his head angled sideways and he was rubbing the back of his neck in pain. "I want another shot at her."

"This is Keen's bondswoman," Batiste said in refusal, looking at him for a moment. "You should go to sickbay."

"That is her?" another MechWarrior blurted. "No wonder she was so good."

Batiste shook his head. Reaching one arm around Minh's waist, he shifted her onto her belly, then hoisted her beneath his arm. As he stood, her arms and legs dangled downward. He carried her out of the gymnasium, the point following him. He noticed Suni regarding Minh with a thoughtful look on her face.

He was almost to the bunk room when he could feel Minh stir.

"Put me down," she said breathlessly. Hanging in a half bent posture from Batiste's arm made it difficult for her to breathe.

He ignored her demand until he stepped into the bunk room. Stopping in the common area, he released her carefully. Minh stepped away from him, rubbing her midsection as she favored him with a dark look. Batiste stared back at her. She suddenly whirled and strode quickly into her side of the compartment. With fists clenched, she stopped when she reached the power armor lockers. She stood facing the lockers squarely, her body shaking with outrage. Then, shifting herself sideways, she kicked out with all of her force. The sole of her shoe hit the door with a solid slam. The metal was too thick for her to dent. Minh remained where she was standing, with one foot on the deck and the other on the door. She breathed heavily, her frustration evident.

"Are you through?" Batiste asked mildly.

"I was not finished in there!" Minh shouted. She returned her foot to the deck. Batiste could see that she was taking a defensive posture.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Batiste did not have to raise his voice to project his own authority. He stepped swiftly to Minh before she could attempt to evade him. He gripped her by the front of her collar and lifted her from the deck. She tried to hit and kick him in her frenzy, but he quickly took control of her. With his free hand, he gripped one of her thighs, then carried her horizontally to her bunk.

"No!" Minh shrieked, her eyes wide in apprehension. She clawed at him, trying to rake her fingernails in his face. Her reach was too short. Deftly, he flipped her over onto her belly and held her down. One hand was between her shoulder blades and the other was in the small of her back.

"Do not flatter yourself," Batiste said. He began moving the hand that pressed down on her shoulder.

Minh stopped clawing and kicking at the blanket beneath her. She relaxed, succumbing to Batiste's unexpected massage. He did not have to hold her down at her waist and started using both hands to squeeze and rub her shoulders and neck. After several minutes, she was asleep.

"What do you suppose set her off?" Keller asked as Batiste stepped away from Minh.

"She is still crazy," Batiste said. "She has not fully recovered herself. I will let her nap for a few minutes. Go ahead to the ready room."

Batiste sat on an empty bunk across from Minh as the point filed out of the compartment. He watched the woman lie peacefully. She was like a small animal, wild and unpredictable. Such a trait was desirable in a warrior, but self control was also needed. Much of the time, she seemed alien to him. Granted, those under bond and others not of the warrior caste were foreign when compared to warriors.

He had stood up to wake Minh as Keen entered the compartment. He paused, but Keen nodded at him to continue.

"Minh, wake up," Batiste said.

The bondswoman pushed herself upright, stretching and inhaling deeply. As she sat, she noticed the two Elementals watching her and she gave a startled gasp.

"Batiste, I have behaved disgracefully. I apologize for my actions against you," Minh bent herself over her kneeling legs. "I knew better than to do that."

Batiste did not know what to say. As he thought before, this woman was completely alien. Warriors always stood up for themselves, even when they were mistaken. A warrior did not become submissive.

"Doc has cleared you for full contact training?" Keen asked.

"Uh oh."

The two elementals looked at each other at Minh's distressed utterance. Batiste actually smiled at Minh's cautious response. Minh straightened up and looked at Keen.

"I forgot to ask him," she declared meekly. "I have disobeyed you, Keen. My life is forfeit."

"The little idiot thinks you might kill her," Batiste said.

"I might," Keen stared thoughtfully at her.

Minh returned his look, an oddly serene look on her face.

Batiste reminded himself that she was one strange bondswoman.

"The forfeiture of your life only applied if you had disobeyed me about the power armor," Keen explained. "Batiste, take Minh to sickbay. I want to know her status."

Minh walked calmly with Batiste, her demeanor normal. As he considered his charge, he recalled that she had not made any excuses for her conduct. That was the way of the warrior. A warrior did not make excuses, only results. He had heard bondsmen and techs at one time or another make excuses for their failures. For one such as Minh to exhibit any semblance of nobility was uncommon. He wondered if she really had what it took to make Keen's peculiar plan successful. He had witnessed the steel of her determination. She had been willing to accept punishment for her actions, to stand up for herself against those more powerful. Earlier, she had displayed the fire of rage, fighting harder than he would have thought possible. That did not even take into account that she was still recovering from her self-inflicted wound.

There was one matter in which he had no doubts at all. Minh was crazy.

They entered sickbay. It looked almost as it had before to Minh. Katya was working on inventory of first aid bags. Doc was at the examination table, tending to MechWarrior Rick.

"You!"

Rick had seen the two enter.

"Keep still!" Doc said sharply to his patient. He was probing Rick's neck with his hands. Minh left Batiste's side and went to the warrior.

"I did not mean to cause you harm," she said in repentance, bowing to him. "I apologize for-."

The warrior gave a sour chuckle, interrupting Minh.

"You think you can get out of your punishment?" Rick demanded. "We are not finished! I owe you some pain!"

"Relax!" Doc instructed his patient. He looked at Batiste and Minh.

"Doc, Keen wants you to examine Minh and inform us of her status," Batiste said.

"Status? I will give you her status," the MechWarrior spouted. "A world of hurt. That is where she will be when I get through with her!"

"You need to relax," Doc told him. He turned to Batiste and Minh and gestured for them to follow him. He led them to the counter by Katya.

"Sit here," he directed Minh to sit on a stool. "It seems you have made another friend. What have you done now?"

"I went to the gymnasium to work off my frustrations," Minh said in a matter of fact manner.

"Bravo Trinary obliged her," Batiste contributed. "She put down nearly two stars of MechWarriors."

"Minh?" Katya left her inventory and looked at the slight bondswoman with amazement.

"Did you get hit?" Doc asked as he removed the bandage from Minh's throat. "I see some excessive leakage."

Looking over Doc's shoulder, Katya blanched at the sight of Minh's uncovered scar. To her credit, she did not look away. It was something she would have to get used to seeing in sickbay as Doc's assistant.

"Not until Batiste cut in," Minh said.

"Where did he hit you?" Doc asked.

"Here," Minh pointed to the top of her head.

"I guess it is a good thing you have a hard head," Doc said.

"The first time he hit me. The second time, well, he did not hit me then. He just grabbed me and threw me onto my bunk," Minh continued in an ambiguous manner. "He has wonderful hands. If you are stiff, I recommend him whole heartedly."

Doc and Katya turned their heads to Batiste. He looked back, clearly uncomfortable.

"Minh," he said in an ominous tone.

With Doc cleaning her neck, Minh did not move her head. She turned her eyes as she acknowledged him, her lips parted. "Aff, Batiste."

"Shut up," he said abruptly.

Minh obediently closed her parted lips. Doc noticed a warm regard in her eyes. She saw him looking at her. She winked one eye, a smile not quite touching her lips. Then, color flushed her cheeks. Her display of charm was unexpected, but Doc was pleased to see it. It reaffirmed his prognosis that she needed to be out of sickbay and interacting with others. Doc inspected her neck, gently touching the skin.

"I would say another day or so," Doc determined.

"Another day or so, then what?" Batiste asked.

"I will see her again," Doc explained. "Until then, I do not want her training. Not with opponents. She is not to do anything that will put stress on her neck."

"Aff, Doc," Minh responded.

"And you," Doc began applying a new bandage. "Stop beating up MechWarriors. I do not want you fighting. You might think it is funny, but you could have been killed if they had hit you just wrong."

"There is an element of risk in everything," Batiste said.

"It is not a risk that needs to be courted," Doc replied.

"You would think that someone so small would be really fragile," Katya said in a state of amazement.

"The problem is getting your hands on her first," the MechWarrior called out.

After Doc was through with Minh in sickbay, Batiste led her to a new destination. She could hear a deep voice speaking in an admonishing manner.

"We will soon be making planet fall. The last time we were on the ground, you guys looked rusty. This trip has already been too long. I am sure the trip back has only make you worse. Once we return, we will really train in earnest."

Arriving at an open doorway, she saw the speaker. At the far side of the crowded room, an Elemental stood lecturing the group. There were over twenty Elementals seated and standing, more than Minh had ever seen at one time. He stopped talking as the two entered the room.

"Good of you to join us, Batiste," he said unpleasantly.

"It is good to be here, Star Commander," he rumbled back. A few of the other Elementals chuckled in good humor.

"I do not recall inviting _that_ in here," the star commander stared at Minh. His animosity was more than apparent.

Minh could feel the attention of the entire assembly like a heavy weight. Her face warmed up, but she was determined not to be intimidated. She looked around at the other Elementals. She saw the members of her point, their stares impassive. Others were more aggressive, like the star commander, very unfriendly. She noticed Suni speaking in a low voice to another Elemental. When she finished, he too looked at her with scorn.

"What? That little thing? No way," he said.

"I invited the bondswoman."

Minh, hearing Keen's voice, found him. He was seated near Keller. An Elemental had been standing in the way, obstructing her view. Minh could not remember if what he said was true. Either way, he clearly demonstrated his willingness to take responsibility for his people. Instead of the star commander being angry at Batiste, he would be angry at Keen. Keen turned his attention from the star commander to look at her. Though he had a reserved expression, she saw something in his eyes.

"This is Elemental training," the star commander stated. "That means warriors only. Remove that _thing_."

Minh found that being discussed in such a manner to be extremely offensive. Her only crime was that she wore a white bond cord on her wrist. She wanted to lash out, to challenge the star commander to a fight. As soon as she thought that, reason cooled her temper. She turned and looked up at Batiste.

"I did not mean to sully your ready room with my presence," Minh said in a clear voice. With her back to the star commander, he could not see the sparkle in her eyes. "Perhaps I can come back when you are through and clean up my mess."

Batiste did not smile. Instead, she saw something she had never seen on his face. Concern. He was looking over her head at the star commander.

_Uh oh, what have I done?_

"I suggest that you run. Now," Batiste gripped her shoulder and propelled her out of the room.

As Minh obeyed the command, she could not restrain herself from laughing.

Batiste had seen the effect Minh's impertinent comment had on the star commander. It was not the content of the comment, but the fact that a bondswoman had mocked a warrior. She had mocked him in front of his trinary. The star commander had not made a move from where he stood, but his body language revealed his urge to kill.

"Okay, maybe she did," the Elemental standing beside Suni conceded.

The star commander glared at him for a moment, then turned his attention back to Batiste.

"I do not want to see her again," he commanded. From his tone of voice, it was obvious that there would be dire consequences for Minh.

"Aff, Star Commander," Batiste said solemnly. Apparently Minh had not gotten her frustrations out of her system.

xxXxxxXxx

From her exhibition, Keen could see that Minh was still unbalanced, just as Doc had informed him. He knew he needed to talk to her, but he did not know what to tell her. His feelings for her only added to his befuddlement. He was unused to both the feelings of bewilderment and this unusual attraction to another individual. If he so chose, he knew he could relate dispassionately with her as he had done so far. She seemed satisfied with the attention he had shown her. In her way, she displayed a stoicism that matched his own. Despite their cultural differences, they were alike.

He could see that she was trying to deal with her emotions. Most of the time she seemed detached from the rest of the world around her. It was rare that she became very emotional. He had been surprised when she approached him in the gymnasium. He was sure that it had been with Salen's encouragement. She had spoken that she was determined to keep her honor, which is how she referred to her chastity.

Her honor was important. It was an honor that was different from a warrior's honor. By the same token, it was the same as well.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was cleaning the compartment when the Elementals returned from the ready room. Batiste tried to counsel her about what she had done, but he had trouble keeping a straight face. She stood facing him, her expression serious.

"You should not have said that in front of the star commander," he said, inwardly cursing the smile on his face.

"Such comments are best said behind his back," Keller quipped.

"That is not funny!" Batiste roared at Keller, trying to be stern.

"No, it is not funny," Minh said in agreement. Keller laughed.

Batiste muttered an oath under his breath. He glared down at the diminutive bondswoman. Unperturbed, Minh looked back.

"No, that was not funny," Batiste said to her, uncomfortable with her familiarity. "You need to be more respectful of your superiors."

"I will," Minh agreed solemnly. There was no hint of mockery in her dark eyes.

"The star commander would have killed you had you remained," Batiste continued. "He may still do so if he sees you again." He reached down and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I am interrupting."

The matter of fact comment surprised Batiste and Minh. They turned and saw Keen in the doorway.

"Batiste and I were having words," Minh said helpfully. "I consider myself admonished."

Removing his hand from the bondswoman, Batiste stepped away from her. Keen looked at them for a moment.

"What is her status, Batiste?" Keen asked.

"Minh is not cleared to train yet. Doc wants to see her in two days for reevaluation," Batiste informed him.

"I see," Keen nodded to Batiste, then looked to Minh. "Walk with me."

Minh went with Keen, walking beside him. Keen did not look at her. He did not know what he wanted to say. It was obvious she understood the star commander's ire. Minh spoke first after a long silence.

"It is very late, but I want to thank you for saving my life," she said. "I do not know how to show my appreciation for your effort on my behalf."

"You can show your appreciation by not doing anything like that again," Keen said.

Minh looked up at him and saw the pain in his eyes. She nodded her concurrence, knowing that anything she said would be inadequate.

Keen saw the dreadful event in his mind's eye. When Minh and Salen were tussling for the knife on the mat, he had assumed that the training session had gotten out of hand. It was not until she had regained the knife that he had an inkling that something was wrong. Facing away from any opponent, she had been poised to stab herself. He had very nearly been too late, running up behind her and staying her fist with his own. In her desperation, she was uncommonly strong, though no match for his muscle. The shower of blood surprised him. In hindsight he was amazed that he had not taken the knife away from her sideways. Having already pierced her trachea, he could have sliced through her jugular. With her blood spilling as she fell, he was sure she was dying. Without a conscious thought, he picked her up and ran with her unconscious body in his arms. The personnel in the passage dodged out of his way during his run to sickbay. He also recalled looking at her seemingly lifeless body as Doc quickly tended to her wound. She was stained crimson from beneath her jaw to her torso. He had seen battlefield injuries before, but this one bothered him. It was not that it was as bad as the others. It was seeing Minh in that condition that had profoundly disturbed him. It was much more than the prospect of losing a potential warrior. It had almost been the loss of a potential friend.

Minh was in silent contemplation as well. She wondered if she could marry this man. Ifit were possible, would he be willing to marry her? The only way she believed that he could would be for him to renounce his standing. For him to do that would be out of the question. Even if she could entice him to do just that, she would not. She felt too much respect for him.

There must be another way. She understood what drove him, because she felt the same way about herself. That was why she was sympathetic to him. On a basic level, as man and woman, they respected each other. Would that be enough? She hoped it would be.

Minh had gone through life knowing that there were things that were forbidden to her. It did not make it easier just because she was used to it. In Clan Wolf, she was an undesirable, socially unacceptable for the company of a respected warrior. She knew of others who wore the bond cord that were respected. They had earned that respect. She must earn respect for herself, to gain a position of responsibility. Colin was one such bondsman who had done so. As for herself, she had done a very poor job of gaining respect so far. She had incited MechWarriors to anger. She had smarted off to the Elemental star commander. She had tried to take her own life. She was still very much ashamed of that last incident.

They arrived at Keen's quarters. He opened the door, then gestured for Minh to enter first. For a warrior, he was being uncommonly deferential.

Minh paused, suddenly afraid of this man for the first time. _No_, she silently corrected herself. She was afraid of what she would do _with_ this man. It was not a question of her safety, but whether she wanted to be safe. That she would consider surrendering her honor in such a dishonorable circumstance shocked her. Keen looked at her for the first time since taking their walk.

"What we say is of no one's concern but our own," Keen explained. "Go in and sit down."

Minh seated herself at the desk, sitting sideways in the seat to face Keen. She could not help but feel intimidated. In the confines of the quarters, Keen towered over her. Seeming to recognize the source of her unease, he sat on his bunk. He no longer overwhelmed her. However, by sitting on the bed, he was oblivious to the image that he was portraying.

"The chair turns, if you would like to be more comfortable," he said solicitously.

Minh turned in the seat, permitting it to swivel as she repositioned herself. Within moments, she was sitting in it straight, her hands clasped loosely in her lap. Stiff and tense, her demeanor was alert, but there was no reluctance in her manner.

Keen expressed his concern about Minh's attitude. He had gone so far as to conduct his own research in the computer database. He assumed it was hormonal, according to what he read. A chemical imbalance leading to an emotional imbalance. With her feelings, perhaps that was why she was acting the way she was. As Minh listened, her mind considered the word that Keen had spoken. 'Hormonal'.

Keen suddenly stood and approached the desk. He activated the computer terminal and brought up the information for Minh to view on the flat screen. Minh swiveled in the chair, ever conscious of Keen bending over her. His proximity caused her to stop breathing for a moment and she felt lightheaded.

The file was labeled 'The Care and Maintenance of the Human Female.' It looked like a science text from school or a veterinary guide for animals. It reminded Minh of her Clan status, like an animal. The thought fueled her humiliation.

"I believe the author was being facetious," Keen explained. Minh did not know what 'facetious' meant, but she was positive that Keen was being considerate of her feelings. She did not know if he could sense her disgrace.

Minh read the article, her sense of shame undiminished. There were aspects describing female anatomy that shocked her. Or was she shocked because this man had read about it and was now making her read it?

Minh wondered if Keen had researched this information himself. It would prove his intellect if he had. Perhaps Doc had given him direction. In that case, it would demonstrate the depth of his caring. In this society, warriors did not go to their subordinates for advice.

"I do not pretend to understand these feelings," Keen said uncomfortably. "Warriors are bred for only one thing. We live for the fight. Love has no place in conflict."

"There is the soldier's love of his house," Minh caught her use of the male specific pronoun, momentarily confusing herself. She decided to stick with it. "A soldier's love for his comrades. A soldier's love for his ideals."

"Love is only a distraction," Keen said, not unkindly. "A warrior knows why he is on the battlefield. He is there to win the fight. There is no other concern, no other reason."

"There is no concern for his comrades and the men under his command," Minh's probing statement sounded disapproving.

"He is concerned before the fight, ensuring his warriors are prepared for combat," Keen stated. "It is too late to change anything after the battle is joined."

"I believe I understand what you say. Even though Batiste is by your side in battle, he is on his own. If he should have trouble and fall in combat, I find it difficult to believe that you have no concern for his welfare on the battlefield," Minh said.

"Warriors fight with honor," Keen explained. "I would no more interfere with his battle than he would with mine."

"So, Batiste fights alone," Minh said. "He is in battle with his opponent. Another opponent attacks him. It is now two against one in their favor. He is on his own. I cannot see the honor in that."

"There is no honor in that," Keen agreed. "In that case, I would be honor bound to join Batiste in battle. The enemy showed no honor, thus deserves no consideration as equals. It would be the duty of a warrior to eliminate the enemy force."

Minh realized that was what had happened to her militia unit. Her lance of tanks had ganged up on individual BattleMechs. Thus her unit had been destroyed for daring to engage in dishonorable combat.

"Of course, I would not wish to lose a warrior of Batiste's caliber in combat," Keen continued.

It did not escape her notice that Keen had directed the subject from love to that of a warrior's honor. Minh wondered if it had been a conscious decision on his part. With the clan passion for war, did love have any meaning for him? To listen to him speak, love was a totally alien concept. Alien and unwelcome.

xxXxxxXxx

After their talk, Minh cleaned the bunk room, then returned to Keen's quarters to clean. After she was finished, Minh looked at the computer console. Keen had let Minh read the article on female maintenance, so she assumed she could use the computer. She exhaled sharply through her nose, snorting at the thought of the article. She was reminded of the word Keen had used and wondered if she could operate the dictionary function, or if she could even find it. After several minutes of searching through menus, she found it. She tried a number of spellings. Fiseeshuss. Feshitious. Fetitious. When that did not work, she attempted to use the thesaurus function. She did not know what the word meant that she was looking for, but she hoped to find it by blind cross referencing. Intelligent. Idiotic. Knowledgeable.

Nothing worked.

She returned to the dictionary function and tried more spellings. Fussyshus. Fuzzyshess. Fahseeshes.

The door opened unexpectantly. Minh looked up in startlement. She had lost track of the time. It was after lunch. Keen had come to his quarters to change his clothes for afternoon training.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

Minh felt light headed as the blood rushed from her head. She turned in the seat, but she did not trust her legs to stand up. She closed her eyes in expectation of being slapped.

"I am looking for a word," she said softly.

She did not hear him, but she could sense him as he stepped near.

"What word?"

"Fussyshess," Minh said, not opening her eyes. She heard a rustling sound. She could not help twitching as she imagined Keen's hand poised to strike her cheek.

"Are you ill?"

Minh opened her eyes and saw that Keen had knelt in front of her. His face was almost level with hers as he looked into her eyes. Minh slowly shook her head.

"You are very pale. You have not eaten, quaff?" Keen asked.

"Aff, I have not," Minh looked sidewise at the computer, then back at Keen. She tried to speak, to tell him what happened, but the words would not come. Keen looked over at the computer screen and read what she had typed.

"What is that word?" he asked.

"Fiseeshuss. Fizzyshess. Fee-something," Minh shook her head. "My English is poor." She saw the amusement in his eyes as he realized what she was looking for.

"Facetious," he said, reaching to the computer and typing each letter with his forefinger. According to the computer, facetious was an adjective that described a person who was sly or was joking. Minh saw how close she had come once to spelling the word correctly, but not close enough. She tried to figure out how the word applied to the science text on human females. Thinking how the article was written in the form of owner's instructions, she realized the author had been joking with the reader.

"Oh," she murmured as she understood the context of Keen's comment. She thought of how he was speaking to her, as if he cared for her feelings.

_He is tolerating me_, she thought. She had not been punished for using his computer console without his permission. It was as if he pitied her._ Of course he pities me. I am still convalescing_, she thought bitterly. She felt that she would rather have been struck for her temerity. There was no dignity in pity. It was apparent that he did not believe that she deserved to be administered corrective action.

"Go eat," Keen ordered her kindly.

"Aff, Keen," Minh murmured, rising from the chair and stepping quietly from the room.

Minh walked several steps from the door to Keen's quarters, then stopped and leaned back against the bulkhead. She closed her eyes, rubbing them with her fingers. She wanted respect, but had instead found pity. She thought that Keen cared about her, but now she was not sure. She remembered the pain he displayed when he told her not to try to take her own life again. She had seen the pain, hadn't she?

_No! I cannot do this! I cannot be seen like this!_

Minh straightened herself up, standing away from the bulkhead. Removing her hands from her face, she looked around. No one had witnessed her display of weakness. With that relief came a new resolve. Here was her opportunity to prove her reliability. With Keen's tolerant attitude towards her, here was the time to take advantage of it.

xxXxxxXxx

After her tutoring session with Stev Ch'in, Minh was in the bunk room. She sat on her bunk with her back to the bulkhead, her legs crossed, her hands cupping her folded knees. She stared unseeingly at the blank bulkhead across the room. Her mind was occupied in retrospection. She was not paying attention to the conversation of the Elementals. She rarely listened to them. What they chose to talk about was their business, just as Keen had told her earlier in the day.

"It must be boring to sit there by yourself like that."

Minh did not register Bastiste's comment right away. She gradually became aware of the silence in the bunkroom. Then she noticed Batiste standing in the doorway to her half of the compartment.

Minh replayed Batiste's comment on her inactivity. Not knowing what to say, she merely looked at the bronze Elemental in silence. She saw he was holding his boots.

Batiste turned away and went to put the boots away in his locker. When he went back to the doorway, he saw that she was gone.

"Where is Minh?" he asked.

"She must have thought you were going to put her to work," Wendal chuckled.

Batiste shook his head. He was going to explain his actual intention when Salen entered the bunk room. Before she could say anything, Wendal spoke up.

"She is not here," he said. "She is a popular girl."

"She is with Keller?" Salen looked at the assembled Elementals and noticed that Keller was absent as well as Minh.

"Keller is on duty," Batiste explained.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh entered the bondsmen dining area. She saw Colin sitting at his usual table with a small group of bondsmen. She recognized one of the men from engineering. He noticed her and said something to Colin. Colin turned and nodded a welcome to her.

Minh sat at the table, noticing the uneasiness that some of the bondsmen displayed. It was not unexpected.

"My techs are really impressed with you," the engineering bondsman said by way of greeting to her. "They want your bond from Keen."

"I am sure they do," Minh said with irony. "No one else can fit inside the machinery."

"There's more to it than that," the bondsman laughed. The other bondsmen joined in. "They admired your ability to perform hard work without complaint.

"The rest of us do, too," he held out his hand. "I am Schrader."

Minh accepted his hand in her own and the two shook hands. She had no sooner released his hand, then the others were introducing themselves.

"I am Minh," she said to them.

"We know," one of them said.

"You have quite the reputation around here," Colin said with a twinkle in his eye.

"I see," Minh said, not displeased with the positive attention.

"It is good duty in engineering. In a couple years, you could become an astech," Shcrader continued his presentation. "I hope to be an astech in another year. Maybe five years after that, I could be a full tech."

"I doubt Keen will let Minh go to the engineers," Colin said.

"Well, my tech can be pretty persuasive," Schrader said.

"Being in engineering, you would know when the ship is scheduled to jump," Minh conjectured, unable to contain a curious little smile.

"Uh huh," Schrader nodded. "So?"

Minh noticed movement near the table. She looked up and saw Keller walking through the dining area. Distracted from the bondsmen, she looked questioning at him, believing he had a task for her. He gave a little shake of his head in acknowledgement, a faint smile on his lips. He made his way out of the compartment, the bondsmen in the room leaving him a wide berth. Minh turned her attention back to Schrader when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Nagatake, I see you already know Minh," Colin said to the new arrival.

"Yes, I have had the pleasure of serving with her," Nagatake smiled down at her. Minh met it with one of her own.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh felt peace for the first time in months as she returned to her bunkroom. It was gratifying to know that she belonged someplace, that she was accepted.

"There she is!" Wendal announced, surprising Minh as she stepped into the compartment.

Salen was seated with the Elementals at one of the tables in the common. Minh paused, as if immobilized by their attention.

"Did you have a nice visit?" Salen asked. "Keller told us where you were."

"It was a nice visit," Minh said, looking at the gathered warriors curiously.

"If I had known how popular you are, I would have said something to you earlier," Salen said in a mildly irritated tone.

"Sit down," Batiste gestured to an empty seat. Minh regarded him with bewilderment. She had not sat there since he had banned her from the tables.

"You can sit later," Salen rose up. "Minh, we have to talk."

"What would you want to talk about to our bondswoman?" Batiste asked.

"That is between the bondswoman and myself," Salen said curtly, staring at Minh meaningfully.

Minh understood. She faced Batiste and spoke quickly in Vietnamese. Batiste listened with a sour look on his face. When she finished, he waved her away with his hand.

"Go, crazy girl," he said. Wendal snorted in amusement.

Minh accompanied Salen out of the compartment.

"What did you say to him?" Salen asked.

"I told him that I would be teaching Vietnamese," Minh answered.

"I thought it was something like that," Salen said. "You were supposed to keep it to yourself."

"So far, I have," Minh confirmed. "There is no one for light years that can understand me."

"I suppose you are correct," Salen conceded. The two women walked in silence for a moment.

"Facetious," Minh said thoughtfully.

"What was that you said?" Salen asked.

"I learned a new word today," Minh explained. "Keen taught it to me. It occurs to me that I was facetious with Batiste just now."

"When he called you crazy," Salen recalled.

"I was crazy to even imagine a relationship with Keen," Minh declared.

"Must I remind you that you are in the Clan now?" Salen asked. "There is no such thing as relationships in the warrior caste."

"Keller and Suni have a relationship," Minh said speculatively. "I had to leave my bed one night so they could have privacy."

"That is not what I meant," Salen said.

"I see," Minh said. "It would seem that I am not the one who is crazy. It is the Clan that is crazy."

"Oh, really?" Salen looked down at the woman next to her. "Are you trying to make me angry or is there a point to this?"

"There is still so much I do not understand," Minh stopped in the passageway. "Your society..."

"What about our society?" facing squarely to Minh, Salen glowered down at her. "_Your_ society."

"It is not my society. I am a bondswoman. I am a slave to your society," Minh said. "That is the only part of your world that I understand, but that is not what I am talking about."

"What are you talking about?"

"All of the warriors I have seen are young. The only older people around here are the techs," Minh said. "The warriors dominate everyone. I have not seen any old warriors. I cannot believe that young people take command on their first day."

"This ship is not the entire Wolf Clan," Salen explained. "As for command, youth has a minor part in command criteria."

"I would hope so," Minh said. "A commander needs experience and knowledge to lead properly."

"And you figured this out all by yourself?" Salen asked caustically.

"Neg," Minh shook her head. "I am too young to have thought of that for myself. An old warrior, Sho-ko Williams, explained that to us tank commanders."

Salen examined the small woman carefully. Although the woman was smiling, there was no sign of ridicule. Her smile displayed more sadness than humor, as if she were remembering something. Sometimes, when Salen looked into that young face, she forgot that Minh was capable of thought.

"This is what is causing you confusion?" Salen asked.

"That is part of it," Minh nodded, then stopped speaking as a warrior walked past them.

"Then tell me all of it," Salen gestured for Minh to continue walking with her.

"Warriors do not marry," Minh said. "As I understand it, they have children out of wedlock."

"Neg. Warriors do not procreate," Salen disaffirmed.

"I see." It was evident that Minh did not see.

"I do not have parents. I am trueborn," Salen said.

"I thought trueborn were born in Clan Wolf. Freeborn were born out of the clan," Minh explained her perception of clan society.

"Interesting, but not correct. I am trueborn. I am from the gene pool. Conceived in a laboratory, I am the culmination of the best of the best warriors of my house," Salen almost sounded boastful.

Minh stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Then you can have children," she said softly.

"Neg," Salen shook her head.

The contradiction gave Minh a confused expression. She cocked her head sideways like a small bird.

"Only bloodnamed warriors are permitted to contribute to the gene pool," Salen said. "They have proven their ability, thus they are the best of the best."

"Without a bloodname, a warrior cannot propagate," Minh sounded the thought out.

"Aff. For example, if Keen were bloodnamed, your genes could not be combined with his. You are not trueborn. That being the case, you are ineligible for a bloodname. Without a bloodname, you cannot contribute to the gene pool," Salen explained. "It is not a reflection on your ability, but the circumstance of the station of your birth."

"Any offspring I could hope for would have to be freeborn," Minh said, almost to herself. "But that is not possible, because warriors do not marry and I will not conceive out of wedlock."

Minh wondered why she was so candid with Salen. This was not a topic that she felt comfortable speaking about with anyone. It was very personal and private. Perhaps it was because Salen had already seen Minh with her defenses down, that there was nothing else Minh could do to lower Salen's opinion of her any more.

The pair arrived at Salen's quarters. Salen indicated for Minh to sit on her bunk, but Minh chose to sit on the deck.

"What are you doing?" Salen demanded.

"No matter how well I try to clean my shoes, paint chips keep falling out of them," Minh explained apologetically. "I do not want to get any on your bunk."

"Well, take them off," Salen ordered. "You are going to be here a while and you might as well be comfortable."

Minh complied, removing her shoes. A sliver of light-colored enamel fell from one of the shoes as she set it down. Minh snorted with amused vindication.

"You said that warriors do not have relationships," Minh said as she made herself comfortable on the bunk. "You also said that you do not beget children outside of a laboratory. You do not have families."

"Not in the warrior caste, that is so," Salen confirmed.

"Then warrior children are fostered by families of the other castes," Minh guessed.

"Neg," Salen smiled. She had noticed that Minh never asked questions. Instead, she would make a statement. If it were erroneous, she would accept the correction. "Trueborn children begin life in nurseries. There was about a hundred of us in my sybko, I think." Salen paused as she saw the questioning look in Minh's eyes. She waited to see if Minh would ask a question. She did not, as Salen knew she would not.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"I have heard the term 'sybko,'" Minh said. "I assumed it was a family."

"Not exactly," Salen nodded, silently confirming her assumption that Minh never asked questions. _How odd_. "Sybkos are trueborn children that are raised together with the goal of becoming warriors. As they grow, those who prove to be less than optimal are weeded out and fostered with freeborn families. As the sybko grows older, the young adults who are culled from the sybko are placed somewhere in society for the benefit of the clan. Only the best of the sybko are permitted to test for the warrior caste. By then, only a handful remain."

"A sybko is like a class," Minh thought out loud. "Those failing to make a perfect grade lose their place in school." She stared at Salen appraisingly. "If I had been in a sybko-."

"If you had been in a sybko, your small size would have eliminated you very early," Salen interrupted her. "Even in a sybko formed from Aerospace Pilot genes, you would lack the proper proportions."

Minh sensed the tension beneath Salen's pronouncement. Having heard this little tidbit of information about trueborn sybkos, she began to realize how truly alien she was to these warriors. She could imagine the clinical environment, lacking of love and affection where these people had been raised. How could such a man like Keen understand the simple emotion of love? It was as she suspected.

"I have made a fool of myself with Keen," Minh lamented. "If I had known all of this, I would have kept my mouth shut."

"You spend too much time with your mouth shut," Salen corrected her. "You talked to Keen. What did he say?"

Minh thought carefully for a moment.

"He said he would respect my wishes," she said. "He was like you, condescending."

_Condescending? I do not think so_, Salen thought. _I saw no condescension on his face_.

Minh waited for Salen to say something, but the MechWarrior remained silent. It further convinced Minh that Keen was not romantically interested in her. That thought seemed to galvanize her heart, hardening her feelings. She looked squarely at Salen, realizing that she had an opportunity to earn respect from a warrior.

"Enough about that," she said. "We are here to teach you Vietnamese."

Salen had witnessed Minh's change of composure. The bondswoman's demeanor had gone from insecure young woman to confident instructor. It was as if Minh were more than one person. Strangely, she was not reassured by the transformation. She was certain that the issues that had been disturbing Minh were far from resolved.

xxXxxxXxx

"Stand up, Bondswoman!"

Minh was sitting on the gymnasium mat, her legs stretched out. Salen was across from her. They both looked up at the source of the command. The MechWarrior Rick stood over them.

"I am here for a rematch," he declared.

"Aff, Rick," Minh gathered her legs beneath her to stand up.

"Minh."

She heard Keen's voice and looked to him. He shook his head at her as he walked to Rick.

"The bondswoman is not free to accept challenges," he said.

"How convenient for her," Rick said spitefully.

Salen saw the anger in Minh's dark eyes. It was resentment from the inferred charge of cowardice. Salen felt indignation well up, as well as excitement.

"I accept your challenge in her stead," she stood up.

"You?" Rick laughed. "I have seen you fight."

"Not lately," Salen said.

"Sit down before I hurt you," Rick waved at her in dismissal.

"That would make it convenient for you, quaff?" Salen said, implying cowardice right back at Rick. "I am sure someone small like Minh would be more acceptable to you." She glanced at Minh, giving her a wink. Rick did not miss the look.

"Very well," Rick conceded. He pointed at Minh. "I am not finished with you, Bondswoman."

Keen's Elemental point formed a circle around the two MechWarriors. Minh remained where she was seated, watching them. She assessed the combatants. Having fought both of them, she used her own knowledge to determine the victor. Salen was the clear favorite.

Rick circled around Salen, seeking an opening. Instead of pivoting around to deny him an opening, she twisted the other way and gave it to him. Drawn in, he swung to strike Salen. Seizing his wrist, she tucked herself back against him. Using her back as a fulcrum, she pulled him over her shoulder. He fell in an awkward sprawl near Minh. He sat up quickly, his hand rubbing his neck.

"Holding your head like that when you roll is why you hurt your neck," Minh said helpfully. Rick turned a baleful glare to her, then rose to his feet. He had no sooner grappled with Salen than she swiveled her hips, pulling him down and slamming him to the mat. Unlike her previous throw, she maintained control of him, pinning him on his stomach.

"Do you yield?" Salen asked. "Or do I have to break your arm?"

"Aff!" Rick grunted. Salen released her hold and stepped away. He sat up, rubbing his arm as he contemplated the two women.

"You were never this good," he said.

"I have been practicing with a good opponent," Salen declared, giving Minh a sidelong glance.

Keller laughed.

"The last time, you said your opponent was worthless," he said.

"When we started, we were both worthless," Salen faced Minh directly. "We have improved ourselves." Minh looked uncomfortable with the praise, diverting her eyes from the woman MechWarrior.

Rick made to leave the gymnasium. He paused long enough to speak with Keen before he left.

"He has lost a lot of face," Minh spoke to herself.

"Face?" Salen repeated. Minh spared her a glance.

"It is my fault. I made him look bad in front of his nova," she said. "Now he has been embarrassed in front of the Elementals." She sighed deeply, then picked herself up. "He is not the only one I have done this to."

"Minh?" Salen wanted to keep her talking.

Minh paused, looking at Salen quizzically. She smiled, extending her small fist with the thumb raised up in approval.

"That was an excellent fight," she said. "I can see I have a lot of catching up to do." With that, she turned and began her run around the gymnasium.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh walked toward the Elemental ready room. Her point had already departed for the morning. She had waited long enough for all of the Elementals to gather. For her plan to have merit, they all had to be present. She could hear the star commander's voice as she neared the compartment.

Arriving at the ready room, Minh paused just outside the doorway. The Elementals did not notice her immediately. It was the star commander who saw her first. He frowned, barely pausing to finish his thought.

"Now, before I continue, perhaps someone can tell me why _she_ is here?"

Minh found herself the object of everyone's attention. Knowing that it would happen, she had steeled herself. Batiste shook his head in exasperation. Suni smiled in expectation. Keen looked at her searchingly. Many of the room's occupants murmured.

Minh stepped to the doorway before anyone could interrupt, making sure she did not actually enter the room. She bowed her head, her hands clasped before her.

"I am here to deliver myself for punishment," she said in a clear voice. "The last time I was here, I behaved in a disrespectful manner. For that, I apologize. I would rather submit myself to you now, to die, if necessary, than hide from you like a coward."

Everyone in the room was silent. Holding her bow, Minh stared at the floor of the ready room, not looking up at their faces. After several moments, she saw a pair of legs advance toward her. The star commander stopped in front of her. Maintaining her submissive poise, she did not raise her head.

"It would be so easy to snap your little neck," the star commander said.

Straightening her posture, Minh closed her eyes and lifted her face, exposing her throat. She waited for the large hand to squeeze the life from her, to pop the vertibrae in her neck. When she felt his touch, she was caught by surprise.

His thick fingers gripped the top of her head, ruffling her hair. She opened her eyes. The star commander stared down at her.

"I see you have manners now," he said. "To destroy you would be a waste of time and resources. I am sure you have duties. Go and attend to them. We will discuss this no more."

"Aff, Star Commander," Minh acknowledged as he released her. Thus dismissed, she turned and walked away.


	6. Chapter 5

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Five

Wolf Clan JumpShip Trailblaze

en route to Clan Wolf occupied space

25 February 3051

"Have you seen Minh?" MechWarrior Salen demanded.

"Not since the last time you asked," the Elemental Keller replied disinterestedly. A huge man, he had a light complexion and very short red hair. In contrast, Salen was smaller, average in size with her long dark hair tied in a braid down her back.

"She will be okay," Batiste said. Like Keller, he was a large muscular man. His skin was bronze in tone, his scalp hairless. In addition to Keller and Batiste, two other Elementals were seated at the two tables in the common area of their bunk room. All of the men were genetically-engineered infantry, specially designed to be large and powerful.

"No one has seen her," Salen continued, glaring at the Elementals. "I wanted to be with her for the jump."

"She can take care of herself," Batiste said.

"Unless she tears her neck open again," Salen countered. "Doc had to gas her to sleep last time."

A series of tones sounded in the passageway.

"It is too late now," Keller said. "We are about to jump."

Salen braced herself against the doorway leading to the sleeping area of the bunkroom. Within several seconds, the JumpShip made its transition through hyper space, folding through thirty light years of distance. She did not notice any change around her. She watched the Elementals, curious to see how they reacted to the hyper jump. Of the four, Wendal looked the most relaxed. He sat with his elbow on the table, his chin on his fist. He almost seemed to be asleep.

Different people were affected by hyper jumps to varying degrees. Some were like Salen and the Elementals, who did not notice the actual jump through hyper space. At least, she assumed the Elementals were not affected. Perhaps they were merely being stoic, hiding their discomfort. Other people became irritable or uncomfortable, conditions that lasted for moments or hours afterwards. Some claimed to see things that were not there. At the extreme end of the spectrum was Minh, who suffered severely adverse reactions. She became violently ill, unable to hold anything down in her stomach. In addition, she saw and heard things during the hyper space translations that frightened her, straining her perception of reality. Salen appreciated how fortunate she was not to see the ship come apart around her on every jump.

"She should be here soon," Keller said. "I doubt she will want to go to dinner."

Minutes later, his doubt was proven correct.

Minh entered the compartment, her normally porcelain complexion looking transparent. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the warriors staring back at her. She was small woman, much smaller than Salen. Her black hair was cut even with her jaw line. An angry red diagonal scar crossed her trachea. Her almond-shaped eyes blinked as Salen snapped at her.

"Where have you been?"

"I was in the bondsman restroom," Minh replied in a listless voice. "That seemed to be the best place for me to throw up." She reached up and rubbed one eye with her forefinger. The white bond cord on her right wrist seemed to match her pale skin tone.

"You mean you knew about the jump?" Salen asked.

"I have known for a couple days. Schrader told me," Minh said, dropping her hand. She proceeded to her side of the compartment. "I should have skipped breakfast as well as lunch." She wavered for a moment. "I hate my life," she said with dejection.

Keller grinned at the little Vietnamese woman's suffering tone. Salen barely spared the Elemental a glance as she followed Minh.

"Schrader? Who is Schrader?" she asked.

"He is a bondsman for the engineers," Minh crawled onto her bunk and lay gingerly on her side. "He knows when the ship is scheduled to jump. He says his techs want me to work for them in the engine room."

"I am not sure you should be associating with the bondsmen," Salen said.

Minh stiffened at the comment. With some effort, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her cheeks and her nose had become florid.

"I am a bondswoman. There is no one here that I can associate with. There is no place I can go," Minh said forcefully, shaking her wrist with the bond cord. "I cannot even use the warrior washing facility. You threw me out of there yourself! I live on this deck, yet I have to go down to use the facilities with the other bondsmen." Her voice, already hoarse with her hyper space induced illness, had become weaker as she spoke.

Salen silently watched as Minh collapsed back onto her bunk. Her anger vanishing like the flash of gunpowder in a pan, intense and quickly consumed. She rolled over, hiding her face against the bulkhead.

"Sometimes, I hate you," Minh whispered weakly. Her sickness had taken the vitality out of her.

"Minh, for some reason I forget that you are only a bondswoman," Salen said lamely.

"I am not allowed to forget," Minh said breathlessly. Her shoulders seemed to shudder and Salen realized that the young woman was silently crying.

"Minh," Salen tried unsuccessfully to think of something encouraging to say.

"I need to rest," Minh said slowly, her voice not much more than an undertone. "I will be fine in a while. It is the jump. I hate them."

"I know," Salen said softly, placing her hand on Minh's upper arm in comfort. "I know."

Minh reached with her hand and gently squeezed Salen's fingers in response. The gesture reassured the woman MechWarrior.

"We will talk later, quaff?" Salen asked, referring to her secret Vietnamese language lesson.

"Aff, Salen," Minh confirmed.

Salen slipped away to give the bondswoman time to calm down. As she departed the compartment, Batiste joined her.

"Minh has been trying to adjust," he told her. "In the past few days she has not behaved crazy."

"I am concerned about the company she has been keeping lately," Salen said. "She has been seeing that Nagatake."

"What is a 'nagatake?'"

"Nagatake is the man who nearly killed Minh," Salen said heatedly.

"It was Minh who nearly killed Minh," Batiste said. "I was there."

Salen had been there too. At the time, she had been wrestling Minh for possession of a fighting knife. Salen had assumed that Minh meant to use it against her. They had reached a stalemate. Although Salen was larger and stronger, the smaller woman had the determination. Finally, Minh had delivered a head butt, stunning Salen. Apparently Minh was hard-headed in more ways than her attitude. She could have easily used the knife on Salen, but her intention had been to turn it on herself. Only the intervention of Elemental Point Commander Keen had saved her life, but just barely. She had only managed to pierce her airway. Had she severed an artery, she would not have survived Keen's rapid carry to sickbay.

"She has been acting different," Salen insisted.

"Minh has always been different," Batiste observed. "She would not be Minh."

"You make her sound like Keen," Salen said. "And that is another thing."

"Oh?"

"She barely looks at Keen any more," Salen explained. "She used to watch him whenever they were in the same room. Now, she only registers his presence when he addresses her."

"It would seem that the infatuation is over," Batiste said.

"I do not believe so," Salen shook her head in denial. "I cannot ken what is happening in that little brain of hers. She will not even discuss the matter."

"She is remarkably mature for her size," Batiste ventured.

"Maturity is not about size, it is a product of age," Salen said. "Minh is still unstable."

"She is more stable than she has ever been," Batiste countered.

"That is stability? Minh is not herself," Salen denied.

"You do not know Minh," Batiste said. "She has had a tough time since coming to us. Give her an opportunity to settle down."

"You make her sound like a welcome addition to your team," Salen said.

"You should talk," Batiste countered. "You could not stand to be in the same room with her. Now you show your concern as if you are friends."

"If I did not know you better, I would believe you are having sport with me," Salen said, looking sidewise at the tall Elemental.

"Is there anyone you really know?" Batiste smiled down at the MechWarrior.

xxXxxxXxx

Stev Ch'in arrived after dinner. Typical of genetically-engineered Aerospace Pilots, he was short, with the enlarged cranium and widely spaced eyes. Like Minh, he was of Asian descent. He stopped in the doorway and looked into Minh's bunk area.

"Apparently she is resting," he commented quietly. "I just came to make sure she was doing well after the jump."

"I think she is asleep. Salen really wound her up," Keller explained.

Hearing his voice, Minh turned away from the bulkhead and rose from the bunk. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she joined the warriors. Shaky and flushed, she sat next to Keller. It had only been recently that she was permitted to sit at the tables. She rubbed her eye again with a finger, removing some encrusted salt from one eye.

Sometimes when Stev was flying, his eyes would water as a result of the dry air in his suit. He was unable to reach into his helmet to wipe his eyes clean. At the end of his flight, salt would be crusted in the corners of his eyes. Seeing him watching her, Minh flushed. He realized that she was embarrassed that she had been caught crying.

He was reminded of a previous time in particular when Minh was embarrassed. She had been demonstrating the manner in which the men of her culture spoke Japanese. After speaking, she had suddenly laughed. She apologized for that, claiming that she had sounded silly. Stev knew it had been her display of emotion that had embarrassed her.

"I am packing my things tonight so I will defer our tutoring session," Stev explained to Minh. He saw that she had a blank look on her face as she puzzled over his words. The young woman had been instructing Stev in his Japanese language proficiency. Her eloquence in two languages, Japanese and Vietnamese, was in contrast to her relative inability to understand some comments in her third language, English. It was not that she was ignorant or stupid. Her ability to adapt to the Clan Wolf lifestyle was proof of that. No, it was just that she was forced to express herself in English all the time. Unlike prior to her capture, there was next to no one who could converse with her in her other languages.

Finally, she nodded, having figured out what Stev had told her. There was still a question in her eyes, obviously wondering about his remark about packing.

"This is our last jump," Stev explained. "We have arrived at our destination."

Minh remained silent. Stev studied her for a moment. Something Salen told him days before came to mind. Minh never asked questions, but somehow she found ways to satisfy her curiosity. He knew she had used the computer terminal in Keen's quarters a few times.

"Time to get off my duff and pack my duffel," Wendal left his seat at the table. The other warriors smiled at the repititious play on words, but Minh did not pay attention.

"I thought we would never get to wherever we are going," Minh said. She put her forehead down on the table and said something in Vietnamese. The relief in her voice was palpable.

Seeing Minh's display of weakness, Stev felt concern. He was positive that she had not eaten. There would be no breakfast in the morning, since the ship would stop generating gravity in preparation for loading and launching DropShips. Minh would have missed at least two meals by then.

Minh raised her head with a tired and sleepy expression. What little color that remained from her embarrassment did little to improve the unhealthy pallor in her face. Finding herself the subject of everyone's scrutiny, she gave a little smile. She was trying to conceal her discomfort.

"When you pack your bag, leave your magnetic shoes out," Keller said. "You will need them in the morning."

"I do not have any," Minh replied. "The storekeeper was supposed to issue me a full clothing issue, I think, but he only had one pair of shoes in my size."

"That cannot be right. Her feet are not that small," Wendal said. He was placing the contents of his locker on his bunk, arranging it so that he could pack it efficiently.

"It is too late to worry about that now," Keller said. "Even if there were a pair in her size, it is doubtful she could get them prior to leaving the ship."

"Well, we will not be using ours tomorrow," Wendal said. "Perhaps she could wear mine."

"Why are you not using yours?" Stev asked.

"These suits do not walk themselves," Keller pointed his thumb back at his side of the compartment. There were four armored lockers against the far bulkhead, numbered two through five. Inside were the primary tools of the Elemental's trade, Elemental powered armor.

"You cannot very well carry them in your duffels," Stev conceded. "Will Minh be able to wear the shoes?"

"We can find out right now," Wendal brought his shoes over to the common area and placed them on the deck. "Try them on, Minh."

Minh removed her own shoes and stepped to the larger shoes. Even with the shoes firmly fastened, her feet slipped out.

"There is too much room in there. Here, put these socks on," Wendal supplied several pairs.

With her feet cocooned within several layers of over-sized socks, she stepped into the shoes again. She had some difficulty fastening the shoes. She had to move her feet to squat down, but the magnetic soles made movement difficult. When she finished, she stood up. She tried to bring her feet together.

"Try walking," Wendal instructed her.

"I am trying," Minh said, bracing herself on one knee. She tried to pull her other foot to her.

"Those magnets are too big and powerful for your feet," Stev observed.

"What are you doing?" Batiste asked from the doorway. He had arrived in time to see Minh's attempt to walk.

"Apparently nothing," Minh said dryly, straightening herself up.

"Your shoes make good anchors, Wendal," Keller laughed.

"She does not have ship shoes," Stev explained to Batiste as Minh bent down to remove herself from the Elemental-sized 'anchors'. "Wendal offered her the use of his."

"So much for simple solutions," Wendal said with a shrug.

"Minh is going to need help getting to the DropShip," Stev said.

"I can pull myself along the handrails," Minh volunteered as she bent down and unfastened the shoes.

"I do not think so," Stev said. "You would not be able to keep up in the crowds and we do not want you getting separated and lost."

"Not a problem," Batiste said. "Minh will ride with me to the DropShip. The sickbay over there will be overflow berthing, so I will take her there."

"Very simple," Wendal commented with approval.

Sitting on the deck, Minh removed the socks from her feet, then placed them in her lap. She rolled them neatly into pairs. Batiste watched her for a moment.

"That reminds me. Make sure to get your dirty clothes from the bins," Batiste told them. "The laundry will not be delivering them to us dirt side."

When Minh finished with the socks, she stood and returned them to Wendal. As she returned to put her own shoes back on, Batiste stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder. She glanced at the large hand in surprise, then looked up at Batiste.

"You are in very rough shape," he said to her. "You might want to consider eating every meal before hyper jumping from now on. You will have more residual energy, I think."

"Aff, Batiste," Minh nodded. She noticed the others watching her. In their eyes she could sense feelings of, not quite respect, but that of kindness. She had never received that from the Elementals before. Of course, Stev Ch'in had always regarded her with care, but the Elementals had kept her beyond arms reach unless absolutely necessary. She felt as if she were going to cry.

"Go pack your things. Save room for your bedding in the morning," Batiste ordered her, his hand squeezing her shoulder as if lending her strength before he released her.

Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded and went to her bunk to pack.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh knocked on the door to Salen's quarters. She did not want to be there. She wanted to lie down and rest, but not while the Elementals were still awake. She had been humiliated by the looks they had been giving her since Stev Ch'in had talked to her. Admittedly, she had been touched by their attention, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was pity. She understood what they were thinking. They were large, robust men who regarded her as a small, frail woman. It had been her quest to gain their respect. She felt she had begun to make some progress when they permitted her to sit with them at the tables. Now she saw their manner as patronizing. They were grown ups letting the little girl associate with adults. Minh heard Salen's muffled voice respond to her knock.

"Enter!"

Minh forced herself to adopt a calm demeanor. She smiled as her nerves resisted her efforts. She sought to rid her body of tension. Once her posture was relaxed, she entered the door.

What immediately came to view was a mess. Clothing was gathered in small piles on the bunk. Other personal effects were on the desk. Salen sat straddling a chair with her back to her desk, a vexed look on her face. On the deck at her feet stood a half-filled duffel.

"You look better," said Salen. She gestured to her bag. "All of my things fit in here before. For some reason I cannot fit all of my stuff in this time. I did not get any more things. I just do not understand this."

Minh heard the frustration in Salen's voice. She assessed how much of her remaining possessions would fit in the duffel.

"I have room in my bag," she offered.

Salen shook her head. She was quiet for a moment, remembering what Minh had said earlier.

'Sometimes, I hate you.'

She could understand the sentiment. After all, the two of them had begun as enemies on the battlefield. However, it was the qualifier that made her think. 'Sometimes.'

That would mean that at other times Minh did not hate Salen. After all, the two women had been on friendly terms for a while.

She also remembered what Batiste said about Minh's behavior. She agreed that Minh seemed to have regained her calm composure as of late.

"Thank you for the offer," Salen declined with a shake of her head. "All of my things fit once. There is no reason why I cannot get them to fit again."

Minh watched as Salen began removing her clothing from the bag.

Minh assisted in folding, explaining how she saw Wendal pack. After folding his clothes, he rolled them into cylindrical shapes and set them in his bag layer by layer. Periodically he would bounce his bag off of the deck to settle the contents.

"Batiste said I should stop fasting prior to hyper jumps," Minh announced in an unassuming manner, not looking up from what she was doing. It was obvious that the incident in the bunk room was preying on her mind as well. "I fear he is correct."

Minh was not as shaky as before, but her movements were betrayed by trembling as she refolded Salen's clothing. It was as if her old reserve had not quite returned. Having seen Minh's control over her anger and other strong emotions slip over the past weeks, Salen wondered how much of her modest manner was contrived now. A simple judgmental comment about seeing bondsmen had brought out fire. Salen was sure there was more to her reaction than simple illness.

"I did not mean to harrass you, Minh," Salen said, surprising herself by actually speaking her thoughts out loud. "I am just looking after you."

"Batiste does the same thing," Minh commented quietly, not looking up from what her hands were doing. "When I first met everyone, it seemed no one cared. I was just a slave to be used up, like a disposable thing. Now everyone is like my friend. I should be flattered that you think so highly of me." From her tone of voice, Minh did not sound skeptical.

"Keen does," Salen watched the small woman carefully for her reaction.

"Keen does not think any more of me than I do myself," Minh said tonelessly. It was apparent by her mood that she had given up on her relationship with Keen. It sounded like she was trying to be rational about it.

_Maybe Batiste was right_, Salen thought. She did not know what to think, much less how to respond. Personal matters like this had not been a part of her life experience. She had no comments, much less advice, to give her new acquaintance. She paused to think about that, pondering her association with Minh. Could it be friendship? She had not had friends up to now, only comrades in arms. To her own astonishment, she enjoyed Minh's companionship, even the lessons in Vietnamese.

At their first lesson, Minh had explained that the language was known as tieng Viet. Since Minh spoke it with so little effort, Salen had assumed it would be easy, but it had proven not to be the case. The language was tonal, meaning that the way a word was pronounced changed the meaning of that word. Each syllable had six different sounds. The language also recognized six vowels, each one with a derivative. It all had become so complicated as she learned more.

Salen's thoughts came full circle as she considered Minh. The bondswoman was clearly making an effort to fit in to the clan society to which she had been thrust. She was learning from the clan while teaching others of her own culture. There had been a time not so long ago when Salen would have rebelled at the thought of learning from people she considered inferior. After all, it was the conquered who were supposed to adopt the ways of the victors, was it not?

In silence, the two women folded and rolled the rest of the clothes. Finally, the duffel bag was packed, but Minh remarked that there was no room for the bedding. Salen held up a strap, explaining that she would use it to attach her pillow and blankets to the outside of her bag in the morning.

xxXxxXxx

Minh wanted to wash herself after she left Salen's quarters, but the washing area was closed down. The showers were in the process of being rigged for zero gravity operation. Waterproof curtains were being attached around the shower columns. One of the working bondsmen gave her a dour look, discouraging her from remaining in the area.

When she lay down in her bunk, she felt relief that the trip would soon be finished. That relief gave way to excitement, as she realized that she had never been to another planet before. Not knowing what would happen to her or what she would see, she felt the first tendrils of anxiety grip her empty stomach. Though she had managed to get comfortable, she was unable to sleep. She wished she had not been informed of the arrival. She knew she would have slept better. It was very late when she finally did fall asleep.

xxXxxxXxx

"She sleeps hard, quaff?"

Minh awoke bleary eyed with a strange detachment. She did not place the voice at first. In addition, she could hear activity from the other side of the compartment as the Elementals pulled bedding from their bunks.

"Minh does everything the hard way," Keller commented.

The lights were on. In her sleep, Minh had pulled the blanket over her head to keep the light out of her face. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she accustomed herself to the illumination level. After several moments, she lowered her hands and visibly jumped to find a man standing over her.

"Good morning, little lady," he greeted her as she looked up at his face. "Stev Ch'in asked me to bring you this."

"Cook," Minh responded, recognizing him. She accepted the two items that he held out to her. A small foil wrapped bundle and a drink bulb.

"I guess we did not have an introduction last time," the man grinned at her. "I am Grigsby, but it is fine if you call me Cook."

Minh remembered when Stev Ch'in took her to the warrior galley. This man, the cook, had made her a sandwich and served her goat's milk. From the size of the foil wrapper, she suspected that there was at least two sandwiches inside. Examining the drink bulb, she could see it held milk.

"Thank you, Cook," she replied, leaning forward in a bow. "My name is Minh."

"You are welcome, Minh," the cook said. "But I would like something in return."

Minh was instantly on her guard. Her first instinct was to throw his food back at him in refusal. What did he want from her? There was very little she could offer in return. Surely he would not be bold enough to ask for personal time with her in front of the Elementals. Rather than act in haste, she waited for him to state his price.

"You will be training with these Elementals, quaff?" he asked her. Minh nodded. "These guys do their own cooking in the field. Sometimes they give me grief over my own efforts in their behalf. I get the feeling they are comparing their skill to mine. Suppose you tell me what they do."

"You could ask them now," Minh suggested.

"You really think I could get one of these big Elementals to exchange recipes with me?" the cook looked over at the men packing their bedding. Minh considered the Elementals for herself, trying to imagine them as they prepared food over a campfire. The image refused to develop in her mind.

"I see what you mean," she said slowly as she returned her attention to Grigsby.

"I am not talking about their rations, unless they prepare them in a really unusual manner," Grigsby continued to explain. "Sometimes these guys eat off the land. That is what I would like to find out. If you see anything like that, I would like to know about it."

"I understand," Minh nodded again. Yes, it was something she could do for the cook. For a brief moment, she was ashamed of herself for being suspicious of him. "Well bargained and done."

"Well bargained and done," Grigsby repeated. "Thank you, Minh." With a congenial nod, he departed the compartment.

Minh looked at the bundle, her mouth watering as she considered eating. Her eyes turned self-consciously to the Elementals. She felt it would be inconsiderate for her to eat in front of them. As if feeling the weight of her gaze, Batiste turned and looked back at her.

"You will want to eat that before the ship goes weightless," he suggested firmly.

Minh nodded, too timid to speak as a result of her discomfort. She peeled open the foil and discovered two sandwiches. The bread had been cut diagonally from a long bun. Curious, she lifted the top piece of bread from one of the sandwiches. There was a broad strip of meat and a couple slices of cheese. A spicy sauce had been spread on the inner surface of the bread. She dipped a finger in the sauce and tasted it. The flavor was sharper than she was used to, a pleasant change from the usual fare when she ate with the bondsmen.

"That looks delicious."

Feeling an instant sense of guilt, Minh looked to the speaker. It was Keller. The other Elementals subjected her to their scrutiny as well. She noticed for the first time that the men were clad only in shorts.

"Share?" Minh offered in a passive voice.

Keller grinned and started to step forward, but Batiste held up a hand.

"Keller, let the woman eat in peace," he said. "You stuffed your face twice last night. There is not enough there to feed her and serve as a snack for you."

Not having ever seen an Elemental eat, Minh could imagine the amount of food they would require to keep up their energy.

"She did invite me to share," Keller said in his defense. He waved a hand to Minh in good nature. "Perhaps next time." Then, like the rest of the Elementals, he turned back to packing his bedding.

Batiste watched Minh surreptitiously as she carefully ate her breakfast. Using the wrapper as a plate, she held her face over it to keep from spilling crumbs onto her bunk. At first, she looked almost wolfish as she satisfied her appetite. WIth obvious effort, she chewed slowly, staring down at her meal. He had been concerned that she would choke herself by eating too fast, but that worry proved baseless. At each pause, she would wash it down with her drink. He could see she savored whatever it was that was in the bulb.

Having finished one sandwich, she looked at the remaining one. Her hunger sated, she wrapped the foil back around it. Batiste continued to observe Minh as she held her empty drink bulb and apparently debated what she would do with it. With a small shrug, she opened her duffel bag and placed the sandwich and bulb inside. After that, she stripped her bedding from her bunk. She folded it and put it away in her bag.

Minh looked over at the Elementals and noticed how they had arranged their duffels. Each bag stood on the deck, a shoulder strap pulled through a railing on the bunk. The loop of the strap had been brought back to the top of the bag and fastened by the bag's closure clip.

As Minh copied their method, she marveled at the simplicity. She realized that if she had been left to her own devices, she would have unbuckled the shoulder strap and knotted it around the bunk railing. Once she was finished imitating her bunk mates, she went to the common area and sat at a table.

The Elementals had opened their power armor lockers. Batiste began taking pieces of his armor out of his locker. He carried each piece over to Minh's side of the compartment and laid them out on the deck. Although he exercised care in placing the pieces down, the heavy weight was obvious. With each trip, the armor took shape from the legs up.

Minh was careful not to show too much interest, in lieu of what had happened previously when she had indulged her curiosity. In fact, she kept her hands in her lap to emphasize her willingness to keep her distance. Despite her increasing familiarity with the Elementals, she knew they would not hesitate to discipline her if she demonstrated a need for it. That would include killing her if she violated their prohibition by daring to lay a finger on their armor without their permission.

As Batiste laid out his armor, the other Elementals helped each other armor up. Minh could see the logic of their procedure. Keller and Wendal held one set of legs steady. Anton stood on his bunk, then stepped into the legs, slipping through the lower torso assembly to do so. As he stood in place, the two Elementals manhandled the next piece of armor. The upper torso was already assembled with the arms were attached. The right forearm consisted of a laser. The left arm had a three prong claw for a hand. Attached to that forearm was a machine gun. Keller and Wendal held the assembly as Anton put his arms into it like a smock. Keller made sure that the assembly was seated securely on the lower torso and nodded at Wendal, who fastened the seam closed in the back. Once he was finished, he assisted Keller in placing the head and chest piece in place over Anton's head.

Batiste and Keller teamed up to dress Wendal in his armor. Once they finished with Wendal, they laid out Keller's suit on the deck. With the head and chest piece open, Keller slid in feet first as if he were entering a sleeping bag. A tight sleeping bag, since he had to worm his way inside.

Minh noticed a pattern to their method. The Elementals had suited up the junior most members of the point first. Looking at the suits, she contemplated the difficulty in wearing one herself. She realized that she would not be able to see out of the V-shaped visors because she was too short. Batiste noticed the circumspect look on her face.

"Bondswomen have no business wearing powered battle armor," Batiste said. He looked her over in a calculating manner. "Small size or no."

"Aff, Batiste," Minh acknowledged solemnly. She watched Keller stand his armor up on cloven feet.

An alarm tone sounded in the passage outside of the bunk room, followed by a man speaking over the ship's internal communications system.

"For the information of all hands! The ship will cease generating gravity in five minutes. All personnel brace for sudden shock. All personnel are cautioned to remain clear of heavy equipment. Report any damage immediately!"

"Minh, put your duffel on and brace yourself," Batiste indicated her bag, then pointed back to the table where she was sitting.

Minh obeyed. As she released her bag from the bunk railing and slipped her arms into the shoulder straps, she considered why Batiste had given her that instruction. She assumed it would have been awkward for her to sling her bag onto her back in a zero gravity environment. Without the anchor of magnetic shoes, her muscles would not necessarily be moving the duffel around to her back. In the weightless environment, her body mass would be working against the mass of the bag. She was not certain what would happen. Perhaps she would spin around. Maybe she would propel herself across the compartment. Batiste was not in the habit of issuing superfluous instructions. He had a reason and she trusted him. She returned to the table and sat down. With the bag on her back, she had to sit sideways in relation to the table.

In the meantime, Batiste had begun slipping into his prone armor. Minh looked into the passageway as she heard loud voices. Someone was clearly unhappy, cursing the unsecured state of the cleaning closet. Someone else complained that he did not have time take care of it. They had to be in their stations before the counter thrusters were fired.

The urgency of the voices fed Minh with worry. She wondered how dangerous the ship's maneuver would really be to the inhabitants. She remembered when the ship first attained gravity as she came aboard. It did not seem violent at all. As the voices faded away, she made sure she had a good grip on the seat. She slipped her other forearm under the table top.

Batiste had gained his feet and stood facing the rest of the team as the alarm sounded again. Minh felt the ship shake, much more a shiver than a quake. At the same time, she felt an odd lightening of her weight on the seat. She began to rise, propelled by the braking action of the ship. One set of thrusters ceased and another set lit off in the opposite direction, cancelling the onboard gravity. The edge of the table dug into the recess of her elbow. Instinctively, her calves found purchase underneath the seat, helping her remain seated. She could feel her bag tug up on her back, the straps digging into her armpits. She noticed motion on the Elemental's side of the compartment. Their duffels seemed to float upward, restrained only by their attachment to the bunk railings. From the passageway she heard metallic clattering. In her mind's eye she could see the buckets bounce against the overhead of the little cleaning compartment.

Another alarm sounded as the counter thrusters stopped. The same man who had made the announcement over the intercom cautioned all personnel to be careful in microgravity. Minh rolled the name around in her brain. 'Microgravity' was not a term she had heard before. It did not make sense to her. She knew 'micro' meant small. Small-gravity? Little-gravity? She decided someone was making a joke, that they were being facetious.

_I really need to learn English_, Minh decided to herself.

"Minh," Batiste's voice sounded loud through his suit speaker. Minh jumped, startled by this unexpected ability of the suits.

Minh looked up at the reflective V-shaped visor that concealed Batiste's face. It unnerved her that she could not see him. She remained unflinching as he slowly stepped toward her.

"Wrap your arms around my laser," Batiste held his arm out to her. "We need the use of your hands."

Obediently, Minh release her grip at the table and attached herself to the metal casing of Batiste's laser. Thus mounted, Minh was carried through the compartment. Before she could be instructed, she knew what was expected of her. Batiste wanted her to unfasten their duffel bags from their bunks. As she worked, she wondered what they would have done without her. As fast as she thought of the question, she thought of the answer. Batiste would have waited outside of his suit during the braking procedure, then released the duffels. Then he would have crawled into his suit in microgravity.

Another question occurred to her as Batiste carried her from bag to bag. With the amored suit on the deck, what would keep it from flying up into the overhead? Lying prone, the magnetic feet would not be on the deck. Perhaps he would have to leave the suit in the locker and assemble it in microgravity. Then Minh had another thought. It was probably possible to assemble the suit so that it stood on deck. Without gravity, Batiste could get into it as easily as if it were lying prone. The magnets would have held it to the deck.

With the bags released, each Elemental used his claw to hold it while guiding his laser arm through the shoulder straps. They held the bag secure by hugging the laser to their chest plates. Batiste bade Minh to hold onto the bunk railing as he secured his duffel in the same manner. Then he turned away from her and instructed her to hold onto the brackets on the back of his suit.

When Minh first saw these suits, there had been what she assumed to be missile packs that fired over the shoulders. The packs were not in evidence now. She suspected that the brackets were attachment points for the packs.

Minh held onto Batiste's suit as he led the other three Elementals from the bunk room. With no purchase for her feet, her body drifted freely behind. As they proceeded along the passage, it did not escape Minh's recollection that it had been Batiste who had escorted her onto the JumpShip in the first place.

xxXxxxXxx

"Minh!"

Batiste had separated from the other Elementals to deposit Minh in the DropShip's sickbay. It was there that the excited shout caught everyone's attention. Admittedly, an Elemental in a suit of powered armor that stood well over two meters tall was quite an eye-catcher in itself. Without needing to be told, Minh dismounted from the suit's back and clutched at an overhead pipe. Without a word, Batiste left.

"Minh, Doc saved you a place," it was Katya, Doc's new assistant. She approached Minh, stepping carefully with her ship shoes. "Give me your hand and I will take you there."

Minh released her hold on the pipe with a gentle push. She floated downward toward Katya. Touching lightly on the deck, she accepted the other woman's hand and let her pull her through the small compartment. She noticed that the other occupants in the compartment were giving her unpleasant looks. It was the bond cord on her wrist, she knew. It reminded her of her argument with Salen the night before. At least she would not be alone. She looked at Katya's wrist, but failed to see her bond cord.

"Here we are," Katya said, indicating the bunk Minh was assigned. "Just strap down and-." Her voice trailed off as she noticed Minh staring at her hand. "I am not a bondswoman anymore. Doc decided that I would be more acceptable to patients if I were a med tech." She pointed to a patch on her jump suit.

"I am happy for you," Minh tried to smile, but it was difficult. She felt an odd sense of betrayal, that she was being left behind. It had been her quest to become respectable and gain responsibility. Katya had obviously attained that and Minh recognized the jealousy in herself. She fought that selfish impulse. There was no doubt that Katya deserved her good fortune. After all, she had been a bondswoman much longer than Minh.

"If it had not been for you, I would still be a bondswoman. Here, let me help you with your bag," Katya said, an easy smile on her lips. Somehow she knew what Minh had been thinking. Minh permitted Katya to remove the duffel from her back, alternating her grip on the bunk railing as she slipped each arm out of the shoulder straps. It was true, it was because of her friendship to Minh that Katya had been badly beaten. Somehow, Doc had recognized something in Katya and decided to keep her on as his assistant. "Go and strap yourself in. We will be departing soon. Do you need help?"

Minh shook her head as Katya set the bag across the foot of Minh's bunk. She unbuckled one shoulder strap and fed it through the railing, wrapping it around a couple of times before reattaching it to the buckle.

Without ship shoes, the simple act of settling in proved to be a clumsy proposition. The small woman guided herself over the bunk. She held onto the railing as she pulled a restraining strap over her legs. Once it was tightened to the bracket on the railing, she was firmly moored in place. Running the belt across her torso was a simpler act.

"Yes, if Vera hadn't beaten me, Nagatake would not have taken me to sickbay and I would never have met Doc. I guess Doc assumed that since you and I were friends, perhaps I had some worth of character," Katya continued. She glanced shyly at Minh, still smiling. Then the smile faded as she observed Minh's disturbed expression. Minh was glaring at her with unfocused eyes. "I did not mean to anger you with my happiness."

Katya turned away. Minh caught the comment. She quickly clutched at Katya's hand. A misunderstanding had occurred and it was important to Minh that it be resolved immediately.

"I am not angry at you," Minh said earnestly. She held Katya's hand close to her bosom with both of her own hands.

"You did not act like the other bondswomen. You were brave where I was not," Katya said in a soft voice. "Like the others, you did not respect me, but I believed you liked me a little bit."

"I like you," Minh confirmed. "I am not angry with you. It is not you. To be thankful to scum like Vera-." At a loss for words, she stopped speaking. Katya placed her free hand over Minh's grip, at last understanding what Minh had really meant to say.

"We are still friends, quaff?" she asked, realizing the source of Minh's pique.

"Aff," Minh said simply.

"What are you two doing?" a loud male voice cut into their conversation.

"It is called bonding!" Katya snapped, turning her head to face the speaker. It was an older tech, one Minh was unfamiliar with. She had seen several of them in the engineering compartment on the JumpShip when she worked for them one night. This was not one of them.

"Bonding? Yeah," the tech sounded sarcastic. "I would like to bond with you."

"Dream on!" Katya responded tartly.

Minh was shocked by Katya's instant display of self-confidence. The content did not sink in for a moment, then she felt her face get warm. The tech smirked at them in a knowing manner as he tied his bag down on his bunk. Uncomfortable with his attention, she withdrew her hands from Katya's grasp.

"I have that bunk there," Katya nodded to the bunk across the aisle way from Minh. "We will be able to talk, if you want."

"That would be fine," Minh nodded. She still felt uneasy, but as she looked at the tech, knew she had little to fear. He was not a warrior and he lacked the muscle tone of a physically-active man. On the other hand, Minh had been training with the largest men on the ship. She was smaller than the tech, but she had learned to use her size to advantage. If he attempted an improper advance, she would be able to turn him away.

With the confidence of that realization, she felt the well-being of drowsiness steal over her. She realized her lack of sleep was catching up with her.

"I'd better strap down," Katya announced.

Minh opened her mouth to respond, but found herself unable to speak. She quickly covered her mouth with a slender hand as she yawned. She did not know when the DropShip would separate from the JumpShip, but she expected to be awake for the launch. Her body had other ideas and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

xxXxxxXxx

"Minh. Wake up, Minh. We have to eat now. Are you awake, Minh?"

Minh became aware of Katya's voice. At first, it seemed like a dream, a figment of her imagination. The words did not make sense to her. Not opening her eyes, she listened for a moment. Except for a faint rumble in the background, it was quiet.

"Minh, wake up!"

At the same time, she felt a hand shake her shoulder. Before she was fully awake, her own hand gripped Katya's wrist. She heard Katya gasp.

Minh opened her eyes, the cobwebs in her mind fading away. She looked up to see Katya standing over her. She released her and Katya winced as she rubbed her arm.

"That hurts," she whispered.

"I did not know I could do that," Minh said breathlessly. She had defended herself in her sleep. "I did not mean to hurt you. I am sorry."

"That's okay. The next time I wake you up, I will not touch you," Katya said as she stopped rubbing her arm. "It's lunch time. We need to hurry up and eat. With all of the extra people on board, we have a very tight schedule to eat in the galley."

Minh was surprised that it was time for lunch. It was then that she equated the distant noise of the rumbling to the DropShip engines. She could feel the weight of her body as the mattress pressed against her backside. She could also feel the pressure of her bladder.

"I hope I have time to use the privy first," she said as she unbuckled herself.

Katya showed Minh to that facility on the way to lunch. Katya had not been exaggerating when she described the short time available for them to eat in the galley. The two women had to wait in a curved passageway in a long line. Of all of the people she had seen on the DropShip, none wore a bond cord. The personnel were either of the tech or warrior caste. She looked for a familiar face, but could not remember seeing any of them before. At least, not while she stood in line. While she sat a one of the few tables in the small eating compartment, she noticed a tech at the next table looking at her. When she returned his scrutiny, he looked away. She did not know the young man, but his face seemed oddly familiar. From his manner, he appeared to recognize her. Not long after that, he had finished eating and departed the galley.

"There are not as many warriors on board as I would have thought," Minh remarked after lunch.

"Many of them do not eat in the galley," Katya explained. "They have mess runners bring their chow."

"Mess runner," Minh pronounced the strange term.

"It sounds strange, I know. The galley is called a mess space, but it is not messy," Katya gave a low chuckle. "At least it is not supposed to be."

"I would like to look for my point," Minh declared.

"Do you know where they are assigned?" Katya asked.

Minh shook her head.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to wander around the ship," Katya said. "DropShips are dangerous in flight. With so many people crowded on board, I do not know what parts of the ship are off limits to low caste personnel."

_Low caste personnel_. Minh imagined that was a polite term for techs and bondsmen. She exhaled sharply out of her nose in a snort.

"Minh, don't be like this," Katya pleaded. "Doc told me I am responsible for you. I have to keep you out of trouble."

Minh stopped walking and stared at Katya.

"That sounds like Doc," she commented.

"I mean it. It's not safe for you to wander around the ship," Katya insisted. "The senior warriors have the cabins. The rest of the warriors and techs are living all over the ship. I heard the MechWarriors are sleeping in their machines. I do not know what parts of the ship are off limits to you. If it wasn't for Doc's influence, you and I would not be bunking in sickbay. Only the senior techs were supposed to be there."

Minh wanted to find her acquaintances. It would be difficult to find out where her Elementals were bunked, but it would be easy to find Salen. She considered asking Katya to take her to the BattleMechs. If she located Salen, there would be no trouble. However, if she encountered Rick, he would most likely give her trouble. MechWarrior Rick still carried a grudge against her for the way she had trounced him in the gymnasium. As much as she wanted to search, she knew it would be best if she did not. It would not do her reputation any good if she were to get into trouble. Then there was Katya. With her responsibility for Minh, it would not be right to bring consequence onto her as well.

"I understand," Minh said. "I do not want to be trouble."

Katya saw the resignation in Minh's dark eyes. There was no sign of deception. When Doc had briefed Katya on her orders, he described Minh as 'hard-headed and stubborn'. Katya knew her to be a determined young woman.

"What I do want," Minh paused in mid-sentence as they continued walking back to sickbay. "I want to bathe. I have not washed in over a day."

Katya recognized Minh's statement as a need to assert a sense of independence for herself. There was no defiance in her tone. Only the simplicity of stated fact.

xxXxxxXxx

Star Colonel Quint DeVega was making a personal inspection of the DropShip Lone Vigil. The ship had launched on schedule from the JumpShip Trailblaze and was making for the planet Strana Mechty in the company of another DropShip. The DropShips were traveling at the speed to generate one gravity. Since the Trailblaze had arrived at a pirate jump point, it would only take two days for them to get planet side.

The star colonel had passed a med tech and a bondswoman in the passage. Neither of the women knew him, but he recognized the bondswoman. They had stopped to have a discussion and he paused to listen to them.

To be honest, he did not really care for the bondswoman Minh. He felt she was more trouble than she was worth. He had reports detailing her attempted suicide, disrespectful manner, and antisocial behavior. He had personally reviewed the battleROM from her captured tank and had seen nothing that made her special in any way. From studying the transcript of her interrogations, he knew she was virtually uneducated and had no appreciable skills to offer.

The engineering officer on Trailblaze had made a request for her. Given his druthers, he would have handed the woman over just to be rid of her. However, there was the matter of Point Commander Keen's Trial of Refusal. His star commander had objected to Minh, stating that the diminutive woman did not have what it took to become an Elemental. Quint DeVega shared in that belief. The whole idea was ludicrous. Unfortunately, with Keen's victory in the personal contest, clan law ruled in Keen's favor. At least for now. There was no way, no way at all, that little thing could successfully complete her training and become an Elemental. When she failed, then he would send her out of his trinary.

The women did not notice him as he followed their discussion. The med tech's begging tone grated on his nerves. One did not normally hear such behavior from a Wolf Clan warrior. In this case, she was only a tech. Since techs were not warrior caste, such behavior like that was not to be unexpected. It was just that it was unpleasant to listen to. All in all, the woman did have a point. There were places on the DropShip that had been taken over by the warriors for the duration of the trip. Places that the bondswoman did not belong. Given what he knew of the small woman, he was surprised when he heard Minh concede to the med tech's common sense.

As the women continued along the passage, the star colonel proceeded on his tour of the ship, his mind returning to more important details.

The Trailblaze had arrived at the pirate point to be closer to the shipyard facilities. The warrior caste and their support personnel and equipment had been off loaded first. All of the ship's crew remained behind to wait for the DropShips to make a second run. A skeleton force would remain aboard when the ship was towed to the shipyard. Unneeded crewmembers, with the bondsmen and women, would leave the ship then. Except Minh, of course, by virtue of her questionable standing with the Elementals.

Due to the stealthy nature of the mission, the Trailblaze had returned home by a roundabout route to avoid enemy forces. By the same token, they had not encountered friendly forces until finally arriving in system. As a result of that, there had been no news from the clans. What little information that had been broadcast to the ship upon arrival was shocking, to say the least.

There had been a recall of all bloodnamed warriors to Strana Mechty. The clan advance had been halted until a new ilKhan could be elected. Each clan was to hold what it had taken in the invasion until hostilities resumed.

Somehow, the previous ilKhan had been killed in combat on board the flagship of the Wolf Clan. It had occurred not long after the Trailblaze had departed from the raid on the planet Demeter. How had that happened? With all of the technological advantages and genetic supremacy of clan warriors, how did the enemy get close enough to strike the flagship?

The position of ilKhan was very important. In ancient days on old Earth, Mongol tribes gathered around their khan. His rule was not absolute. It was through the man's force of will, his charismatic presence, intimidation, and catering to the greed of tribal leaders that the Mongol army chose to follow.

The ilKhan was more than a leader. The ilKhan was guided by a conclave made up of the Khans and saKhans of the various clans. The ilKhan gave voice to the decisions of the conclave. The ilKhan guided at the united sufferance of the Khans. Like the Mongol khan of old, the ilKhan did not lead unless the clans chose to follow. The ilKhan needed approval and ratification from a majority of the Khans.

This was an important point, given how the clans were divided. There were two factions based on their philosophical beliefs. One view held that it was up to the clans to disband the great houses of their enemies and rule in their stead for the welfare of mankind. It was a view that Quint DeVega shared. He and those like-minded were called Crusaders. Those who opposed that belief were known as Wardens. They felt that the great houses had the potential to revive the Star League on their own and should be permitted to do so. The Crusaders pointed out that it was up to the clans to rebuild the Star League. After all, it was the great houses that destroyed the Star League three hundred years before. If there had been any hope for the Star League, surely the venerable Alexandr Kerensky would not have taken the Star League army away into exile. It had been his plan to return generations later once civilization had regressed and return mankind to their proper glory.

One reason for his unease is that the lost ilKhan had been a Crusader. Until a new ilKhan was voted in, the agenda that would guide the clans was in limbo. The next ilKhan could be a Warden. If that were to happen, there was no telling what would happen. It was unthinkable that the clans would turn around and leave the great houses to their own devices once again. That was why it was so important for all of the bloodnamed warriors to be present for the conclave. Since the war had begun, he did not know how many remained in each faction. Even his own trinary had representatives from both sides.

AeroSpace Pilot Stev Ch'in was a Warden. His interest in the culture and languages of the great houses was proof of that. He even spent time with Bondswoman Minh to increase his knowledge.

Another warrior who was apparently sympathetic to the Warden cause was Point Commander Keen. He did not have a bloodname, but that could change soon. That had been another bit of news the ship had received. There was an opening in his house and his sponsor had managed to hold up the bloodname contest until the Trailblaze returned. If Keen managed to win his bloodname before the conclave voted on the new ilKhan, there would be no doubt how he would vote.

Just thinking of all of the implications only convinced Quint DeVega that Minh had really proved to be more trouble than she was worth.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was on her bunk in sickbay. She sat in her familiar pose with her back against the bulkhead. With her legs crossed, her hands were cupped over folded knees. Her dark eyes noticed nothing as her attention turned inward in retrospection. She had a melancholy expression on her face. Katya stared from her from where she reclined on her own bunk.

The small woman did not move. She was like a statue. With her neatly trimmed black hair and naturally pale skin tone, she resembled a porcelain doll. Her unblinking look made Katya uncomfortable. She had not moved for at least half an hour and Katya thought it was freaky.

"So this is Minh."

Katya had not noticed the older tech walk over from his bunk. He looked at Minh in speculation. Katya turned her attention to him, but did not respond.

"She does not look that tough," he continued. "I can't see her dusting a bunch of MechWarriors."

"I can," Katya spoke carefully. She had never seen the little woman in action, but she recalled the determination in her expression when she sought to fight Vera. Doc had talked her out of that fight, but that did not stop Minh from finding another opponent. Several opponents. Plural. She had heard very little of that confrontation, but knew Rick wanted a rematch. Rick was a typical MechWarrior, but Katya had seen his muscles. He was not a weak man. That Minh was able to best such an individual in personal combat said something about her. That she had defeated several MechWarriors told Katya that it had not been a fluke.

Minh noticed the brief conversational exchange. She turned her head and focused on the tech, her countenance becoming neutral. The man pointed his finger at her.

"I've heard all about you," he said. "We are techs here, not fighters. We do not have to put up with any nonsense from you."

Katya giggled. She could not help herself. The tech, who clearly outmassed the bondswman, seemed afraid of her.

"What are you laughing at?" the tech demanded. "I ought to bend you over my knee!"

"You would have to get through her to do it," Katya indicated Minh as she laughed. The tech glared at Katya.

"It is disrespectful to make sport of the man in this way," Minh commented quietly to Katya. She turned her attention back to the tech. "The techs will have no trouble from me. I will give you the respect due your station."

The tech nodded in acknowledgement.

"You could learn from your friend," he said to Katya. He turned and departed.

"Katya, I am sorry," Minh leaned forward over her crossed legs. "I spoke out of turn. It is not my place to give criticism."

Katya had to admit to herself that she was letting her newfound power go to her head. Since becoming a med tech, she had gained some authority that she never had as a bondswoman. It had given her nerve, like when she had traded barbed comments with the tech earlier that morning. She realized that such power was limited. The tech was much senior to her. Laughing at his fear had not been a smart thing to do. Minh's comment had been very timely, effectively defusing a potentially dangerous situation.

"Don't be sorry," Katya sat up on her bunk, marveling at how the smaller woman managed to bend her middle over her legs. Her internal organs had to be pressing against her lungs. "Can you breath like that?"

Minh straightened herself back up. She cocked her head sideways in a thoughtful manner.

"Aff," she answered. "With practice, you could do it too."

"Why?"

Minh glanced away as she tried to think of a reason. Speechless, she looked back to Katya.

Minh did not go to dinner with Katya that evening. She wanted to eat her sandwich before it spoiled. She had offered to share it with Katya, who refused it on the grounds that she was a vegetarian.

xxXxxxXxx

The DropShip landed two days later. In that time, the techs became nodding acquaintances to Minh. They did not avoid each other, but they did keep to themselves. The landing had been a thought provoking experience. Strapped down in her bunk, Minh felt her body react to the various stresses as the ship reoriented itself for atmospheric entry. She could feel herself become weightless as the ship shut off the main reaction drives. Thrusters twisted the ship around until it's base faced the planet. Reverse thrusters propelled the ship down into the gravity well.

Minh saw none of this, but she could still feel the effects on her. At first, enertia pressed her body up against her straps. As she ship fell deeper, it fell faster. At a predetermined point, the main engines started again. They sounded much louder now. Minh assumed that the air around the ship was transmitting the sound against the ship's hull. The ship began braking it's descent and Minh was pressed down into her bunk.

Minh wondered how the bridge crew could see the ground from the top of the ship. A thought stole into her mind, the image of the speroid ship slamming into the ground and breaking like a fragile egg.

I_ will be happy when this is over_, Minh thought unhappily._ I wish I were sleeping through this_.

She became aware that her body was no longer being pressed down. She assumed that the ship was hanging in the sky now, no longer falling.

The engines became even louder. The ship shook, tilting a bit one way, then another. The ship shuddered. As soon as it registered with Minh that the ship was no longer moving, the engines died.

Minh unstrapped herself from her bunk and stood on the deck. As she unbuckled her duffel from her bunk, she wondered why her legs felt strange. She felt shaky and weak.

"Those are your space legs," the tech had noticed her bemusement. "You will get your land legs back pretty soon."

Minh looked at him in disbelief. She had never heard of such things.

"This ship generated a lot of lateral movement on the way from the JumpShip," the tech explained. "We didn't notice it, but our bodies did. Now we are no longer moving and our bodies are reacting to it."

"I understand," Minh replied. "Thank you."

xxXxxxXxx

Fort Bivouac Landing Base

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

28 February 3051

Minh and Katya moved within the press of disembarking personnel. Minh looked around, looking for her point. It was nearly impossible for her to see. Everyone was taller than she was. As the crowd stepped off of the ramp to the ground, they spread out, giving each other more elbow room. Reaching the ground, Minh moved to the side so she could see better. Elementals normally towered over everyone. Unbelievably, she could not even see one of the extraordinary soldiers.

They were in the shade of the DropShip, but it lacked the customary coolness that Minh would expect. Heat emanated from the exhausts, warming the breeze that swirled around them. Minh luxuriated in the feeling. She was happy that the trip in space was over. The ships had been too chilly for her preference.

"You there! How many of you are there?"

Minh turned to see a man gesture at her. She looked at him blankly, not comprehending his demand.

"What do you mean?" Katya asked.

"I am here to take charge of the bondsmen," the man gestured again at Minh.

"I am responsible for her," Katya declared.

"I will now relieve you of that responsibility," the man said. "Where are the others?"

"No others," Katya shook her head.

"Oh, well," the man shrugged. "Leave your bag here. I will have someone pick it up later."

"You do not have the authority to take her," Katya argued.

"This is all the authority I need," the man patted the coiled electro-lash at his hip.

"Just who are you anyway?" Katya demanded.

"Taylor," the man answered. "I am in charge of the warehouses."

"That does not-," Katya continued, but Minh touched her arm.

"No trouble," she said simply. She did not know if Taylor would use the metal whip on Katya, but she did not want to find out the hard way. "I will be okay."

"Let me have your bag. I do not want you to lose it," Katya conceded. Minh handed the bag over, then accompanied the man to his truck.

Taylor made Minh sit in back. The truck had a flatbed with a stake fence along each side. It reminded her of the trucks her family kept on their farm. Taylor got into the cab next to the driver and the truck departed the DropShip. Minh sat with her back against the cab, using it to get as much protection from the wind as possible. The air rapidly cooled as the truck sped away.

She looked up at the colossal space ship. It was much larger than she had imagined it would be. It was spherical, but more elongated than round. Dotted around it's circumference were a variety of weapons positions. Autocannons, energy weapons, and missile systems were well represented. As the distance increased, she could see another DropShip disgorging it's passengers. That one was round in shape.

Movement caught her eye and she saw BattleMechs walking in single file. OmniMechs, she corrected herself. They were marching away from her DropShip in another direction. She tried to see if she could recognize Salen's Omni, but they were too far away for her to see. She recalled that Salen's Omni had a missile system over one shoulder and spotlight on the other. In the distance, she thought she could see two OmniMechs that looked like that.

Seeing the OmniMechs march away reminded Minh of the change in her life. The routine that had shaped her existence on the JumpShip no longer applied on the planet. Would she see those people again? Had that been her last view of Salen? And what about herself? Would Keen be able to locate her? She did not know Taylor or how willing he was to use the electro-lash. Minh decided not to worry about the situation in which she found herself. Things would work out and she would get her routine back. In the meantime, if anything bad did occur, she was positive she could deal with it.

The truck passed through a stand of trees and the DropShips were shielded from sight. After several minutes, the truck stopped between two large buildings.

Taylor got out of the cab and walked around to the back of the truck. He tapped on the flatbed with a short stick.

"Come on, we're here," he ordered. Minh hopped down from the truck and followed him to one of the buildings. From one pocket, he pulled out a heavy ring of keys. He spent several moments flipping through the keys before he found the one he was looking for. He unlocked and removed the massive padlock from a lever holding the double doors closed. He threw the lever over, then hung the padlock on the lever.

"Here," Taylor handed Minh the short club. He then gripped one of the doors with both hands and pulled it sideways along the face of the building.

The interior of the building was dimly lit by translucent skylights in the roof. She could see dust covered boxes sitting on the ferro-crete floor. This was a warehouse, she realized. After the man pushed the other door open, he waved a hand into the building.

"I'm going to get the others," he said. "Go ahead and chase the vermin out of the warehouse. We need to be ready when the trucks get here."

With that, he went back to the stake truck and the two men drove off.

Minh listened as the engine sound faded away. She turned and walked into the warehouse. The air was musty. From the amount of dust, it was obvious that it had been months since the warehouse had seen any use. A light coating of filth covered everything.

Entering deeper into the warehouse, she noticed tracks in the dust. The tracks were made up of small footprints. She leaned down and compared one of the paw prints with her thumb. The print was a bit larger. Standing straight, she examined the stick the man had given her. It was as long as her forearm, more suited for close-in hand-to-hand combat than chasing vermin.

Minh had been instructed to chase the vermin out of the warehouse. She had not seen any other sign of them than their tracks and a few scattered droppings. Creatures that normally lived in hiding did not like loud noises. She walked over to a box and contemplated it for a moment.

"This will do nicely," she said. Her voice sounded hollow due to the acoustic qualities of the warehouse. She raised the stick, then brought it down swiftly onto the box. The box emitted a dull booming noise, but that wasn't all. A swift brown blur shot away toward the door with a skittering of claws. Startled, Minh kicked the box and stepped away from it. Once the creature was gone, the warehouse was silent once more.

Carefully, Minh walked around the box. On the far side she found where the animal had chewed a hole into the plastic. The hole was half of her shin height. Packing material was strewn out away from the hole. She stepped to the side of the box and struck it again. Apart from the echo, there was no response. With that, she pushed the box out the door and shoved it to the side. After that, she carefully checked the other boxes. Each showed sign of infestation, two more of which yielded more animals. After pushing the boxes out of the warehouse, she began a tour around the interior of the building. She hit the walls and support columns. At the same time, she shouted in a shrill voice. In this manner she found their nests when the animals fled from her. The nests were made from packing from the boxes. Like the boxes, she took the packing material out of the warehouse. As for the animals, she never got a good look at them.

When the stake truck returned, several bondsmen dismounted from the back. Taylor stepped from the cab and looked over Minh's handiwork.

"You've done this before," he said with approval. He held out his hand and Minh returned the stick. "I'll have one of the guys run a broom through there and then we'll be ready for the truck. Go ahead and help load that trash onto the flatbed."

When the awaited truck arrived, Minh understood the scope of the task set before them. The truck was actually a tractor-trailor rig. The man had gone to the DropShip to get all of the bondsmen to help unload this truck. These were supplies for the returning personnel from the JumpShip. It was only right that newcomers provide the bondsmen to help store it. Minh could sympathize that sentiment. She was the only representative from the ship. With no more bondsmen to help, that made the workload much heavier for each of them.

As the driver opened the trailor doors, one of the bondsmen stepped close to Minh and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"What say we take a break together later?" he asked in a low voice.

Minh did not answer. She shifted her torso, slipping free of his grip. She stepped away warily. She wanted nothing to do with the type of activity he was intimating.

"Where are you going?" the bondsman asked. He looked around for a moment, then he made the mistake of reaching for Minh again. Seizing his hand with both of hers, Minh stepped in close behind him. Holding the man's elbow in one hand, she folded the man's hand back on its wrist with her other hand. She pulled upward, driving the man off balance. The man stood up on his toes, trying to get relief. "Ah! Let go! What are you doing to me?"

"You dare to touch me without my consent," Minh accused the man quietly.

Attracted by the commotion, the other bondsmen had formed a loose circle around them. Minh kept an eye on them, not wanting anyone to interfere with her. Taylor pushed his way through the bondsmen.

"What is going on here?" he demanded.

"Your bondsman disrespected my person," Minh added pressure to his hand. The man yelped.

"Make her stop!" the bondsman pleaded.

"Stop torturing him and release him," Taylor commanded.

Minh complied, quickly guiding the man away from her before letting go of him.

"Ellit, get in the truck and start pulling out sacks," Taylor ordered the bondsman. He turned to Minh. "Girl, you go into the warehouse. I will tell you what to do when I am done out here. As for the rest of you guys, leave her alone or I will let her break your arms!"

Minh walked toward the warehouse. The circle of bondsmen opened up to let her pass. The men were laughing at the spectacle they had seen, but there was respect as they gave her plenty of room.

xxXxxxXxx

Taylor entered the warehouse after giving his instructions to the men outside. The young woman stood facing the doorway, her visage calm. He knew she would not hold up under the heavy workload. The supplies were in bags that weighed nearly as much as she did. She would not be able to carry the weight from the truck to the warehouse. He had considered sending her back, but that would be wasteful. It was not the Clan way to waste effort. He could use her to organize the interior of the warehouse. She seemed intelligent enough. She had demonstrated that she could follow his instructions. She had also shown initiative, removing the boxes and other matter without being instructed. When that bondsman Ellit got fresh with her, she showed great restraint and maintained a calm demeanor. Despite her youthful appearance, there was an iron determination. The bondsmen would listen to her.

He explained the storage plan to the bondswoman. The warehouse would be filled from the rear wall forward. He pointed out the painted lines on the floor. These delineated the areas where the sacks would be stacked. The sacks contained food that would stand up to long storage, mainly grains and navy beans. He told her he wanted them stacked in separate piles. He did not care in what order the stacks were made, just that each foodstuff had it's own stack.

"You should be done by dark," he said, looking up at the skylight. It was already after lunch. The warehouse did not have power lighting. Once the sun set, the dark warehouse would not be a place for anyone to be.

With that, he left the young woman in the warehouse and set the working party in motion. He watched the progress of the bondsmen for several minutes. Satisfied that work was proceeding to plan, he left the bondsmen in the charge of the tractor-trailor driver. Getting into the stake truck, he and the driver left to dump the trash and check on the other warehouses.

xxXxxxXxx

It was near dusk when the stake truck returned to pick up the bondsmen. The driver was accompanied by Taylor's assistant. The trailor still had a portion of it's cargo left on board. The driver decided to save the rest of it for the next day and he closed up the trailor. He did not want to stay out there after dark.

Ellit followed the man carrying the last sack from the truck into the warehouse. He saw the unlocked padlock hanging on the door. That gave him an idea. He would have revenge on the vicious little girl. He could see the neat stacks of sacks that lined the back wall. The men had lined up at one stack and were waiting to hand up their sack to the bondswoman who knelt on top of the stack. Ellit had heard that the woman was in charge of the warehouse, but he had assumed that she would be standing around watching the work.

As each man placed his sack on the pile, the woman would drag it along the top of the stack. She arranged it neatly at right angles to the sacks directly underneath. Getting closer, he could see the sheen of perspiration on her face and hands. Dark hair stuck to the skin around her face. She looked tired. Ellit rubbed his wrist in memory of what she had done to him.

"Last one," the man in front of him announced.

"We will be opening up another truck when it gets here," Ellit said to the woman. "Just sit tight."

As he said that, the tractor-trailor started it's diesel engine. The woman looked suspiciously at Ellit, but she said nothing. After she finished placing the last bag, she sat down.

Ellit followed the line of men out of the warehouse. The men headed straight for the stake truck.

"Quick, grab that other door," he told the man in front of him.

"What about her?" the man asked.

"We forgot about her," Ellit said. "No one will say anything. If she says different, it will be her word against ours."

The two men pushed the doors together, closing them. Ellit threw the lever over and placed the unlocked padlock in it. As he locked the lock, he heard a loud bang, as if someone had run into the far side of the door. He grinned as the lever rattled against the padlock. He knew that was exactly what had happened. A moment later, there was a rapid pounding on the door. With the engines running, no one could hear it from the trucks.

"Well, that fixes her wagon," Ellit chuckled. "Turn me down, will she? I'm sure she will wish she had some warm companionship tonight."

The two men climbed into the back of the stake truck. The tractor-trailor was starting to drive away.

"Is this everyone?" Taylor's assistant asked.

"This is all the men," Ellit nodded. The rest of the men remained silent. The assistant climbed into the cab and the truck followed the tractor-trailor.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh knew Ellit was up to something. When she saw the doors begin to close, she dropped down from the stack and raced for the opening. She was too late, the doors meeting each other just before she reached them. She slammed herself against the doors, hoping that someone would hear the impact. She tried to open the lever, but Ellit was too fast with the lock. With no other recourse, she kicked the door. She knew the stake truck had returned. She waited for Taylor to hear her kicking and come let her out.

Instead, the trucks drove away. Minh rest her forehead against the metal door. She was tired. She was hungry and thirsty. She was sweaty. The warehouse was becoming dark as the sun set. From the way Taylor had been talking, another load would be brought in tomorrow. That would be when she would be released from confinement. Until then, she needed to find a place to sleep before it became completely dark. The only place she could lie would be up on one of the stacks. She could make her bed on the sacks of grain. She was sure that the animals would return in the dark. When they did, she did not want to be on the floor with them.

Minh chose the stack that she had just finished working on. It was not the tallest, but she could still climb up on it. She arranged the bags on top so that she could lay in a recess. She did not want to roll off in her sleep.

She lay down on her side, shivering as the sweat dried on her skin. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged herself to keep warm. The last of the light vanished from the skylights and the warehouse seemed to become a large cave in the middle of the planet. The grain in the sack beneath her head had molded to her shape. She tried to relax and feel comfortable on the hard grain. She was feeling sleepy.

There was a scrabbling sound somewhere in the warehouse. The vermin were returning to their nests. She had not unexpected them to make so much noise. I am bigger than they are, she thought. They had better stay away from me.

She could hear a scratching sound closer to her. Something was digging into one of the bags on a nearby stack. Minh gave a sharp shout, not a word, but just a loud noise. At the same time, she slapped her hand against a sack. The scratching stopped and she could hear claws against the ferro-crete as the animal ran away. It remained quiet and Minh settled down to rest. After a while, the spot where she lay began to warm up from the heat of her body. She had nestled herself down in comfort when the scratching began again.

xxXxxxXxx

Taylor had gone to bed in a sour mood. The truck that was supposed to be unloaded at Warehouse Thirty One had returned to central supply with a partial load. His superior had called him up to upbraid him. He had not been interested in an explanation, for which Taylor was thankful, because he had no answers. He decided to wait until morning before he talked to his assistant. By then he would be calmer, having had a good nights sleep, and less likely to inflict violence. Sleep was long in coming, but he did manage to slumber.

At first he thought he was dreaming. It had to be a dream. Elementals did not normally come into his quarters and demand if he knew where men were. He was very cooperative, telling him that he had many men. The Elemental then asked if he were Taylor. Of course, that was his name and he acknowledged his identity. Taylor heard the term 'bondswoman'. He shook his head, declaring he had no bondswomen. It was when the Elemental was leaving that he remembered the little bondswoman under his temporary charge.

Taylor became fully awake and, pulling on his jumpsuit, rushed after the Elemental. He asked for a description of the bondswoman he was looking for. Yes, he remembered the small woman with the short black hair and scar on her neck. He had put her to work at Warehouse Thirty One, but the working party was no longer there. He woke up his assistant, who slept in the quarters next to his and asked him where he had taken the bondswoman when they left the warehouse.

"There was no bondswoman," his assistant reported. "They were all men. Ellit locked the warehouse himself and reported to me."

"What did he report?" the Elemental asked.

"He told me all the men were on the truck," the assistant answered.

"There was a bondswoman in the warehouse," Taylor said. "You said Ellit locked the door? That explains everything. I have to get out there. Give me the key to the stake truck."

"Let me get dressed and I will drive you," the assistant said.

"There is no time for that," Taylor raised his voice. "I have to get out there now!"

xxXxxxXxx

Point Commander Keen rode with Taylor in the truck. The cab of the truck was large, but it was still a cramped fit for Elementals. There was very little leg room and his dark crewcut pressed against the roof of the cab. Taylor drove with urgency, almost outrunning the headlights illuminating the paved road. Two warehouses appeared before the truck. Taylor stopped the vehicle in front of one of them, with the headlights pointing at the doors.

The two men got out of the truck. Taylor fumbled with his keys, mincing as he walked barefooted to the front of the truck. He held the ring in the glare of the truck's headlights as he looked for the key he needed. Keen watched him for a moment, then went back to the truck's cab and picked up a crowbar that he had seen on the floor. By the time Taylor had found the key, Keen had inserted the bar into the hasp of the lock and pried it apart. Pulling the lever over, he opened the door open with one hand.

The light from the truck filled the warehouse. At the far end of the building, small animals swarmed around stacks of goods. Many of the creatures fled toward the dark corners when the doors admitted the light. On top of one stack knelt Minh, who had thrown up one hand to shade her eyes from the light. On the next stack, one that was slightly higher than Minh's, an animal crouched. It hissed in anger, getting ready to leap.

Minh reacted quickly. Gripping the top of a sack, she pivoted her body like a top. As she swung the bag around herself, the centrifugal force lifted it up and away from her. The animal snarled at her sudden movement. Minh spun herself a second time, then released the sack, the generated momentum hurling it away from her. The sack swept the angry thing from the stack to the floor. At the same time Minh fell backwards. Her shoulders hit the edge, her head whipping back. She clawed awkwardly against the sacks as she slid down head first to the floor. Keen pounded across the floor, the crowbar still in his hand. What few animals that had remained scattered at his approach. One of the animals ran straight at him in confusion. He kicked it with a booted foot, sending it sliding lifelessly back along the floor.

Taylor had his electro-lash in hand, snapping it at the fleeing creatures. There was a smell of ozone as the metal cable struck the ferro-crete floor. Within moments, the animals were gone.

"Are you all right?" Keen asked Minh as he came to a stop next to her. He placed one arm under her shoulder to steady her and she automatically rolled into his embrace. She looked around wide-eyed, unconsciously accepting his assistance as Keen dragged her slight body from the stack. She felt cold to his touch. Her shivering was a result of her need for warmth as well as a stress reaction from her excitement. She looked for more of the animals. Convinced they were gone, she stared at him.

"I am unhurt," she replied. Then she did something that surprised Taylor. She yawned. Her voice quavered as she continued. "You know, if you had not shined that light, I would not have known that thing was going to jump."

Keen said nothing. Bending his knees, he lowered Minh to the floor and released her. She hugged herself, rubbing her arms as she looked around the warehouse prudently.

"You are one cool customer," Taylor remarked with admiration. She was a small and frail looking woman, yet she handled herself better than most men he knew.

"Yes, it is cold," Minh responded, not understanding the compliment. She noticed Taylor was limping and saw he was not wearing shoes.

The three people walked toward the headlights of the truck.

"How did this happen?" Keen asked Minh.

"It was Ellit. He said another truck was coming," Minh said. "He locked me in the warehouse."

"That was stupid and irresponsible," Taylor spat angrily. "These vermin are cowards during the day. Once it gets dark, they band together. A swarm can overpower a grown man. You could have been killed."

Keen took a deep, silent breath. His massive ribcage swelled menacingly. Taylor did not miss the movement.

"After I drop you off, I have to do something about that lock you broke," Taylor commented as they got into the truck. With Keen's massive size, there was no room left on the seat for a third person. Keen held Minh in his lap and she cradled her head against his warm chest. She had the appearance of a child accepting comfort from a parent. "It is going to be a while before I can get a new lock. I will have to post a sentry. I have just the man in mind to stand guard here every night."

"Good," Minh said, her voice sleepy. Within moments, she relaxed in slumber. Taylor looked at Keen and the Elemental nodded back. If Minh was satisfied with Taylor's punishment for Ellit, then Keen would defer to it.

xxXxxxXxx

The last thing Minh remembered was soaking up Keen's warmth. She had become seriously chilled in the warehouse. Now she was very warm. She lay on her side underneath a blanket. She could feel the warmth of another body against her back.

Another body? Where was she? Recollecting the events from earlier in the evening, she could guess whose bed she was in. Without moving, she could tell that she was still dressed in her jumpsuit. She could feel the press of the blanket against her bare feet. Dim light from someplace cast meager illumination against the wall in front of her face.

As she woke up, she became fully aware of her other senses. She must have slept for a few hours, because she felt rested, but it was still night. She could also smell the stale sweat of her earlier labor. Her throat was dry. She thought it was probably the thirst that had woken her up in the first place.

She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. She saw the dark shape of Keen's broad back. He was sleeping on top of the blanket. Clad in his jumpsuit, he lay on his side.

Carefully, Minh removed her side of the blanket from over her body and slid against the wall. With slow and steady movements, she eased her way down to the foot of the bed and stepped over Keen's bare feet to stand on the floor.

The room was dark, but Minh could see by the light that filtered in around the door. The floor was uncomfortably cool against feet that had just been in a warm bed. She looked for her shoes and found them under the bed next to Keen's boots. She picked them up, then went to the door.

"Lights on."

The sound of Keen's pleasantly resonating voice was followed by a flood of light into the room. Minh squinted in the sudden glare, her eyes watering. She raised a hand over her forehead to shield her face as she turned to face Keen.

Keen also squinted, but he did not appear to be as uncomfortable.

Minh found herself in a simple room. The bed where Keen still lay was stoutly built. On the other wall was a power and communications conduit. It was obvious that a desk and computer had been installed at one time, but there was nothing there now.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I need to wash," Minh responded, lowering her arm as her eyes adjusted to the light.

"There are no washing facilities out there," Keen explained with an amused look. Minh did not know what he found to be funny and she felt a little insulted. "You can use mine."

Minh obeyed his gesture and went through the open door at the other end of the room. The room was illuminated and she assumed that it was on the same lighting circuit as the main room. Inside she found it to be cramped with a sink, a privy, and a shower stall.

"We have to provide our own soap here," Keen had followed her to the room. He handed her a squeeze bottle of liquid detergent.

_We_? Minh felt the stirring of concern. _Am I to live with Keen now?_

"I do not see any towels," Minh commented, trying to keep the uncertainty out of her voice as she accepted the soap.

"There is a dryer in the shower," Keen pointed.

Minh considered the layout of the small room. It had been logically designed.

"Then I have everything, I think," Minh said. Keen stepped away, pulling the door closed as he did so.

Minh turned and faced the mirror over the sink. Although not a beautiful woman, at least not in her eyes, she had always been fastidious about her appearance. What she saw now was a mess. Dust smudged her skin and jumpsuit. Her hair was tangled and dull with streaks of dirt.

_He allowed me into his bed like this?_ she thought critically as she examined herself. However, she did not feel the dirt so much as the thirst.

She lowered her head to the sink and drank her fill from the faucet. Sated, she ran her tongue over her teeth with a grimace. She took some of the soap and used it to brush her teeth with her finger. Afterwards, she spat the bitter tasting soap into the sink and rinsed her mouth out.

The next thing she did was remove her jumpsuit and beat the dust off with the flat of her hand. When she was sure she had gotten all of the dirt off that she could, she looked for a place to hang it up. She noticed a clothing hook on the door above the height of her head. Standing on her toes, she could just reach it. It had obviously been positioned to hold the coveralls of an Elemental.

When Minh took her shower, she washed her underwear, then herself. The dryer was a rude shock at first, blowing cool air down onto her until it warmed up seconds later. She combed her fingers through her hair, letting the blowing air dry her scalp. When the air automatically shut off, both Minh and the shower stall was dry. She wrang the water from her underclothes, then turned the dryer on again. She held them up and let the air dry them also. They were almost dry when the dryer stopped once more.

Minh stood in the shower stall, the air beginning to cool around her bare skin. She reached for the shower stall door, ready to step out when she changed her mind. The dryer had felt very good. She turned it on again, letting the warm air wash over her.

When Minh finally left the washroom, Keen was sitting on his bed, watching her with an indulgent expression. Minh had lost track of how many times she ran the dryer. She felt mortified at the thought that she had abused the privilege Keen had extended to her. Reticent, she averted her eyes as she slowly walked through the room to the door to go out.

"You cannot leave," Keen pronounced somberly.

Minh turned and stood with her back to the door, staring at him like a trapped animal.

"I do not want you to be shanghaied again. We do not have time for any more of that nonsense," Keen explained, observing her reaction to his order. "Come and lay down. It will be dawn soon enough."

"I cannot," Minh shook her head slowly. "Surely you can understand-." Her voice choked off. She waved her hand toward the bed.

Keen did not consciously remember standing up. He approached the tiny woman, dropping to one knee in front of her. Bracing his forearm on his bent knee, he tried to make himself seem unthreatening to her. Down like this, he did not tower over her.

"You need not fear me," he said. "I thought you understood that."

"I do not fear you," Minh said. "Not _that_ way."

"You can trust me," Keen raised on hand to her face. The back of his curled hand caressed her cheek.

"I trust you. That is not the problem," Minh closed her eyes. "I do not trust myself. I am not strong enough."

"I am strong," he murmured.

"I cannot put the entire burden on you," her voice trembled. She brought her hand up. Her gentle touch felt cool against his skin.

Keen had known other women, but none of them held the attraction that this one did. He did not understand his feelings for her. He did understand that she believed in shunning what she called 'illicit physical intimacy'. He would never force her to surrender her honor against her will. He had explained that to her already, yet she acted as if her honor were still in peril.

"Please," she whispered. "No."

Her honor was in peril, but the source of the danger came from Minh's emotions. He could see her anguish as her desire conflicted with her self-restraint. She was vulnerable, unable to protect herself from her own feelings of temptation. She was poised over an emotional abyss. It would not take much to push her over the edge.

"I cannot," she said unhappily. Her dark eyes had opened again, the torment and fear of what could happen very plain in their depths.

Very carefully, Keen withdrew his hand and rose up, stepping back from the woman. He would do nothing to intimidate her. Her chaste notion was important to her. He was sure she would die before letting someone take it from her. At the same time, she wanted to surrender herself to him. Seeing these strong feelings warring inside of her was very unsettling. This was not the Minh he first met on the field of combat. It was important that he get her back. The professional warrior in Keen recognized that. Another part of Keen, the man, found himself caring deeply for Minh. He would not inflict undue distress upon her.

"I will stay here," Minh said. "But not there." She pointed at the bed. She moved sideways to the corner of the room and slid down the wall to sit. She hugged her knees to her chest.

"You will sleep on the floor?" Keen asked, his voice neutral. He was trying to be careful not to spook the woman.

"Aff," Minh had control of her display of emotion. Her eyes had taken on a haunted look, but that was fading as she calmed down.

"The floor will sap the heat right out of you," Keen turned to his bed and pulled the blanket from it. "Here." He wadded it up and tossed it to her.

"You will need it to keep warm," Minh lifted the blanket up in polite refusal.

"I will be warm enough," Keen responded. Minh recalled when she had woken up, he was radiating body heat like a furnace.

"Thank you for your kindness," she said, accepting the blanket. She scooted herself out of the corner and wrapped herself with it. She settled back, her legs curled up beneath her borrowed covering.

Keen looked at her for a moment. Was she going to sleep sitting up like that? It looked very uncomfortable. As if in answer to his silent question, Minh took a deep breath, then exhaled as she relaxed. With her eyes closed, she did look like she was sleeping. With a smile that did not quite reach his lips, he lay on his bed.

"Lights out."

xxXxxxXxx

"Minh."

Minh heard her name and wondered where she was. She was lying on her side, a blanket folded around her so that she lay on it and it covered her. She could feel the hardness of the floor beneath her. It felt cool and a thought occurred to her. The floor was sucking the heat away from her through the blanket anyway.

"Minh."

Minh answered, saying she was awake. She pushed herself upright from where she had lain curled up. She rubbed her arm, the one she had used as a pillow to encourage blood flow to heat it. The lights were back on and she could see Keen watching her. Belatedly, she realized that she had spoken Vietnamese.

Keen had been in the process of pulling his boots on. Seeing that Minh was awake, he returned to tying the laces up.

"You were sleeping really well," he commented.

"The last time I slept on the floor, Batiste woke me by dumping water over me," Minh responded.

Minh picked herself up from the floor. Her muscles felt stiff. Part of it was from sleeping on the hard surface of the floor. She had also worked hard in the warehouse and her muscles were protesting with their soreness. Bundling up the blanket, she carried it to the bed and placed it next to Keen. From her close proximity to Keen, she could smell the scent of soap and realized that he had shaved.

"I need to wash," she said.

"You just washed three hours ago," Keen commented with amusement.

"That was before I slept," Minh said in a matter-of-fact manner. "I smell of sleep."

Keen had no idea what she meant by that. He detected no foul odor. In fact, she had a pleasant smell.

"No one will notice," he said. "It is time for breakfast. I do not want you to miss eating because you spent too much time under the dryer."

Minh felt her face warm at the humorous pronouncement. He meant no malice, but the commentary made her uncomfortable. She nodded, then sat on the floor by the bed to put her shoes on.

"After we eat, we will find out where you will live," Keen explained. "Batiste has your things. That is how I knew where to find you last night."

Minh looked up at him while she tied her shoe.

"Your friend told him you had been shanghaied by Taylor. When you failed to show up, I went looking for him," Keen answered her unspoken request for details. "Those vicious animals could have eaten you alive."

Minh saw the wrath in his expression as he recalled the previous night, as well as a hint of fondness for her. There was still some tension between the two of them, but it was tempered with mutual respect.

They left his quarters, which were located inside a barracks building. It was a forbidding structure, with no windows to mark the number of floors above ground level. It resembled a fortress.

As they walked side by side, Minh resisted the urge to look at Keen. She still felt residual feelings from her intimate talk with him. She had previously believed that Keen had only tolerated her as a person, that he could not possibly care for her as a woman. She thought she understood his real intentions, but she did not. She had seen the desire and genuine interest in his regard for her. As for Minh, there was no denying her own yearning. She had been surprised by the intense emotion. She now understood why young ladies retained the services of a chaperon when in the presence of suitors. Even with the best of intentions, temptation was a constant threat to a woman's virtue.

The sun was rising, warming everything in the path of its rays. Minh shook off a final chill and enjoyed the sensation.

They arrived at the dining facility. Like the barracks, there were no windows on the exterior. No sign marked the the building, but there was no mistaking the food service function. A few warriors entered ahead of them.

Inside Minh could see that there was more than one serving line. Except for one counter, the rest were dark. The tables in front of the unused counters were also in darkness. As she followed Keen past the active section of tables, one of the warriors looked up from his meal tray and glared at her.

"Who let that filthy bondswoman in here?" he demanded.

Minh looked up at Keen reproachfully.

"You said no one would notice," she said accusingly.

"Lucky guess," Keen responded with a twinkle in his eye. He gestured for her to continue ahead of him, displaying his unspoken approval of her presence. At the same time, he looked around in challenge at the other warriors. None of them seemed interested in taking up the gauntlet Keen had thrown down.

Minh pondered the term 'gauntlet' as she arrived at the counter and picked up a tray. She had heard of it when she was in the militia. It was from the ancient days of chivalry, whenever that was, when men wore suits of metal armor and fought on horseback. When one of those men issued a challenge, he would throw down his armored glove, called a gauntlet. When that gauntlet was picked up, that meant that the challenge was accepted. Minh doubted the veracity of the story, on the grounds that it did not make sense to her. The act of picking up an object would place the challenged person in a position of vulnerability. To Minh's mind, that act would communicate a willingness to accept the challenger's mercy, not accept the invitation to fight.

Minh slid her tray along the rails in front of the counter. There were no food servers behind the counter. Instead, all of the portions of the meal were self service. Minh took modest portions from each selection and put each in a different compartment on her tray. While she did this, someone came through the doorway that apparently led from the kitchen behind the counter.

"Ah, little lady!"

Minh looked up at the greeting. It was Grigsby, who had come out to check the quantity of the food at the counter.

"Cook," she acknowledged, just as the outspoken warrior seated at the table interrupted.

"Bondswomen are not ladies!"

Minh's eyes flickered sideways at the rude comment, but she did not turn her head. Grigsby gave her a sympathetic smile.

"If you ever want to have a meal in peace, you are welcome to come through the back," he kept his voice low, so that only Minh and Keen heard him. Minh gave a little smile in response, neither accepting nor refusing his hospitality.

"You are really going to have to pack it away to keep up with us," Keen indicated her lightly loaded tray. Minh looked at his tray and noticed how he had piled on his portions. She considered his words, then added a bread roll to the one already on her tray. A small one.

Grigsby chuckled, shaking his head as he went back into the kitchen.

Keen and Minh went to a table and set their trays down side by side. Minh followed Keen to the beverage bar. There was more of a selection than she had been used to when she ate with the bondsmen. There was coffee, two types of fruit juice, as well as fresh milk. There was also a spigot that dispensed chilled water. Filling a cup with water, she returned to the table.

The two ate in silence. Minh finished the contents on her tray very quickly. She sat back with her hands in her lap, waiting for Keen.

"You can get seconds," Keen said. The speed at which she had eaten conveyed a ravenous appetite.

"I am fine," Minh said.

Keen regarded her for a moment. Minh looked back. Taking his fork, he stabbed a sticky sweetbread on his tray and transferred it to hers. Minh looked at it, thinking that there was something unsanitary about the way he had used his own eating utensil to serve it to her.

"You need to eat," Keen instructed her. Without speaking, she obeyed him.

After breakfast, Keen took Minh to the assembly zone, a neat collection of small buildings. Keen's point had been ensconced in what looked like a windowless rectangular block. A heavy alloy door protected the entrance in one end. Keen pounded on the door with the side of his fist. The noise could barely be heard echoing inside.

There was a rattling noise, but the door did not open. A few seconds passed, then the rattling noise repeated itself. Minh glanced up at Keen in curiosity, wondering if he were going to knock again. It was then she noticed a small glass window. Behind the glass was a cover, which was closed. Someone had looked through it at them, then closed it. That was what the rattling noise was, she decided. She heard a muffled comment, part of which sounded like 'point commander'. A heavy sliding noise sounded, then the wide door slowly opened outward.

Minh did not know who the man was who admitted them into the door, but she recognized him from the DropShip. It was the young tech she had seen at her first meal on board. The one with the familiar face. The one she had never met in her life.

"Minh, this is Don, the weapons tech for the point," Keen introduced them. "Don, you will treat this bondswoman with all the courtesy and respect you would an astech."

"Aff, Point Commander," Don responded.

"Minh, when you are in the armory, you will follow his instructions," Keen continued. "Unless the point or myself supersede them."

"Aff, Keen," she said. Supersede? Minh filed that strange word away in her mind with the other term: 'shanghaied'.

"You are permitted to defend yourself from untoward conduct," Keen said.

Caught in her musings, Minh almost did not hear the additional guideline. She noticed that Don appeared uncomfortable and offended. She replayed the comment in her head and felt herself blush as she understood the implications of what Keen had said.

The tech had been put on notice. He was to keep his hands off of her person and treat her like an assistant tech. It was clear he felt himself above any such misconduct.

"Don, if you have any problems with Minh, you will report it to myself or the point," Keen said. Minh immediately understood what he was doing. He was not going to play favorites. Each one of them knew they had to respect the other.

Don stepped aside and permitted the Elemental and bondswoman to enter the armory. He pulled the door closed behind them and slid a metal crossbar past the doorjam, effectively locking the door. Minh spent a moment examining the inside of the door, noting that flanges on the hinge side of the door would prevent the door from being pulled out of the building. She wondered at that, then realized that the hinges were on the exterior of the building. It would be a simple matter to remove the pins from the hinges to dismount the door. Or it would have been simple. With the crossbar on one side and the flanges on the other, the door would remain in place. It would take more extreme measures, such as explosives, lasers, or perhaps an Elemental powered suit to take out the door.

She saw the tech looking at her. He was somehow familiar to her. She could not help the feeling that she had seen him somewhere else. From his look, it seemed that he knew her, too.

"There she is!"

Minh heard Keller's comment and faced forward. She saw Keller, Batiste, Wendal, and Anton working at heavy duty lock boxes. In addition to those boxes were five larger boxes, each one with a handle on one end with power controls. To Minh that meant that they contained great weight. The boxes were smaller than an assembled suit of power armor, but large enough to contain one in a disassembled condition.

She is glad to see the familiar faces of the Elementals. She felt she was back where she belonged. She could not contain her small demure smile. Out of curiousity, she looked around the room.

Beyond the team of Elementals were two doors. They were closed, but with a warning sign forbidding the presence of flammables and sparking items within the ammunition storage rooms. Along one side of the room was a work bench and a stool. Next to the door in which she had been admitted was a desk and chair. A communications terminal was on the desk.

"I do not want anyone to shanghai Minh again," Keen was speaking to Batiste. He looked at Minh. "If you are alone, you are not to permit yourself to be shanghaied. You will run, if necessary."

"Aff, Keen," Minh decided she must find out what 'shanghai' meant. She did not like the idea of running away from someone, but Keen had issued the order and she was required to obey. After all, she was his bondswoman. She did not want trouble, but she would rather have strangers angry with her than Keen. Especially Keen. She remembered when he had struck her, how she had been spun around. Then there was what had happened the night before, or earlier that morning before dawn, to be exact. His gentle touch had sent her spinning emotionally.

"There is a transient barracks where Minh can stay," Batiste reported.

"Good. When you take her to the barracks, you will tell them that Minh will not be assigned any work," Keen responded.

"I will take Minh before lunch," Batiste said. "She can get her bag from my quarters at the same time."

"Very good," Keen nodded. "In the meantime, put Minh to work here for now. We will start our routine tomorrow."

"You need to really start training," Batiste changed the subject. "Do you know when your first contest is?"

"I have been given two weeks for training," Keen said.

Minh listened to the conversation taking place over her head. She did not understand the new topic. No one seemed to think they needed to explain anything to her. Of course, it was none of her business. If she was supposed to know anything, she would be told. As if reading her thoughts, Batiste looked down at Minh and gestured her toward the weapon tech. He returned to his conversation with Keen.

"I am cleaning rifles right now," Don explained. On the work bench was one of the weapons. It was partially disassembled. "I just cleaned this one. Let me put the gas cylinder back in, then I will get you a rifle and we can do a walk through together."

It did not take long for him to put the few pieces back onto the weapon. Setting the rifle aside, he went to one of the small boxes by Anton and, after unfastening a set of brackets, lifted a rifle out. Bracing the rifle butt against his thigh, he pulled the bolt back and locked it in place.

"Normally, these guys clean their own weapons when they shoot," Don set the weapon on the bench. "What I am doing is looking for abnormal wear. If anything is worn out or broken, I replace it with a spare part."

"What do you mean, 'broken'?" Anton asked.

"I didn't say it was broken," Don said defensively, looking down at Anton's rifle.

"You were inferring that I would put my weapons away broken," Anton said in a cross tone.

Don opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. He sighed through his nose.

"You're right, I said that," he said finally. He looked to Minh. "If one of these weapons were to have a material casualty, they would not be put away until I replaced the defective part. These men take very good care of their gear. The only reason I am doing this today is because it is my responsibility. It is by no means a reflection on them."

"Be careful of your responsibility," Anton growled.

"Or you may end up with a new reflection," Keller added. The two Elementals laughed at the play on words.

"Aff," Don acknowledged. He went to the other rifle and picked it up. When he had put it together, the bolt was closed. Bracing the weapon on his thigh, he retracted the bolt with a shaky hand. Even though the Elementals had been joking, it was apparent he took their warning seriously. He turned his attention to Minh. "Our most important consideration is safety. I will never hand you a weapon unless the action is open." He indicated the bolt. "We always treat weapons as loaded. If I tell you that a weapon is not loaded, don't believe me. Always check for yourself. You understand?"

"Aff," Minh listened to the tech. Safety had always been stressed when she had trained in the militia. There had been a saying that most accidental shootings had involved unloaded weapons. Weapons that had been thought to be unloaded, that is.

"Okay, let's get started," Don said. "We'll do this at the same time. That way you will remember the steps easier."

As he demonstrated the field stripping, he was not particularly graceful. Some parts of the weapon gave him difficulty, such as removing the bolt. It was like a Chinese puzzle, a three dimensional shape that was held together by the assembled pieces. He had to place the bolt in a certain position in the weapon's receiver, then twist and wiggle it free.

Minh performed the removal flawlessly on her weapon.

"You've done this before," Don commented.

"I have never seen this weapon before," Minh shook her head. It was the second time in as many days that someone had told her that.

"Great, make me look bad," Don said.

"She excels at that," Keller quipped.

Don turned his head and grinned at the Elemental, showing plenty of teeth. It seemed he was not as offended as his own comment had suggested.

As Minh cleaned the light coat of oil from the parts, she recalled the cleaning process for the gauss rifle on her Demolisher heavy tank. The nickel-ferrous projectile did not use low explosive compounds. Nevertheless, her militia training had included explosives. There were two kinds, high and low explosives. Low explosives were used as propellants in artillery and missiles. They were called that because the compound did not detonate completely upon ignition. It had a gradual burn rate, even though it was consumed in a rapid explosion. High explosives, on the other hand, exploded all at once. She also remembered that each tank had been issued a charge of high explosive. If the tank looked to be in danger of capture, Minh had been instructed to place the charge in the breech of the gauss rifle and set the timer before leaving the tank. That had been called spiking the gun. Guns were not designed to contain the blast from high explosives, even conventionally fired artillery. Her gauss rifle would have certainly been destroyed, but her capture had been so sudden. She had been unable to perform that final action.

Minh's mind wandered back to how the gauss rifle was maintained. The projectile was brought up to speed magnetically inside the barrel. There was none of the powder fouling and corrosion that would be present from using explosive propellants. All that was really required was for the crew to check the barrel for damage and deterioration. Before and after every scheduled firing, a bore clearance plug was pulled through the barrel to ensure that no distortions had somehow manifested to cause a jam during firing. A mild detergent was used to clean the dirt that had collected in the bore. After all, the muzzle plug was not always installed. During certain exercises, the weapon was kept ready to fire and tanks generated a lot of dust on dry days and kicked up mud on the others. As Tail-end Charley, Minh's tank caught everything from the tanks in front.

It was during those exercises that she had learned a little about tactics. The tank lance leader did not travel in the lead position when traveling in column. Minh had imagined that he would. That way he would not get road and field grime on his tank. Instead he took the second position, or sometimes the third. The tank in lead position was called Point. This tank would usually encounter the enemy first, either in ambush or when approaching an enemy force. If point was knocked out, the leader still retained command. Minh would have thought she would be point, since she was the most inexperienced and junior in rank. It was then explained to her that sometimes the column was attacked from the rear. That would explain why the leader never assumed charley position, politely called Trail.

All of these memories went through Minh's head as she stood working at the counter. Once all of the parts were cleaned, Don examined each piece. The interior of the barrel was difficult to see, because the receiver blocked the light. Don showed her how to direct light into the barrel by positioning her thumb at the breech. The thumbnail reflected light into the barrel as she looked in from the muzzle end.

"You might end up working on a weapon that will be too long for your arm to reach," Don said. "You can put a cleaning patch in the breech to reflect the light."

"Aff," Minh stored the thought away.

"Now we oil the parts and put them together," Don instructed her. "Don't oil the gas cylinder. It will gunk up with powder residue when the weapon is fired and cause a jam."

"If that weapon jams and I get killed because of it, I will come back from the dead and kill you," Anton said.

To Minh's ears, it sounded like Anton was taking an implausible situation and making it possible. Don seemed to take him seriously. As the two worked, Minh noticed that Don was having trouble keeping a straight face. He dared not laugh. An enraged Elemental was not a pleasant experience.

As the morning progressed, Minh learned that each Elemental had his own weapons locker. As she had suspected, the larger boxes with the handles did contain the power suits. Every Elemental had another trunk, this one filled with a helmet, flak vest, and other personal equipment. In addition, Don had a weapons locker and equipment trunk. Though not a warrior, he was expected to defend the armory in the event of an emergency. In time of battle, he would work in the arming area for the Elementals. Wearing helmet and flak vest, he would help reload the weapon systems on the battle armor.

"Will Minh need any gear?" Don asked the Elementals.

Minh noticed that Keen was gone. Sometime while she worked, he had left the armory. She would have thought she would have heard the heavy door.

"We will worry about that later," Batiste decided after a moment of thought. "Minh, come with me. I want to check you into the barracks before lunch."

xxXxxxXxx

Provost, Demeter

Across the border from the Free Rasalhague Republic, Draconis Combine

28 February 3051

James Everly had lived in the town of Provost for most of his life. It was possibly for that reason that he had been promoted to go-cho, a corporal in the Demeter Militia, when he was assigned to the training base as company clerk. When the various officers needed someone to send on their errands, he was the logical choice because he was intimately familiar with the area. It meant a lot of work and late hours, but that was fine with him. The other troopers were crawling in the mud and practicing combat exercises in the rain.

It did not hurt that he had worked for a local news agency as a photographer. He had wanted to be a reporter, but the publishing editor stressed a need for life experience. James did not understand that, but he took the editor's advice and looked at his options. He wanted a job that would take him around the world and give him an opportunity to gain experience. He thought that driving a truck or crewing an ocean vessel would be boring. Most of the employment available to him was too menial and time consuming. There would be little chance for him to experience anything. Since Demeter was a back-water planet, there was very little commerce through their star system. There was little call for the export of heavy industry or anything else like that. He considered joining the military, but that would mean that he would be required to leave the planet. It was at that point that he encountered the recruiter for the Demeter Militia.

The militia was in the middle of a recruiting drive, not because of any perceived danger, but for an infusion of fresh talent. At least, that was what the woman said. James did not know whether to believe her or not. He had been around a few of the news people long enough to develop a sense of cynicism. She also said that the militia would remain planet bound. The purpose of the militia was for planetary defense, not offense. That satisfied his requirement to remain on Demeter. In addition, to her persuasion, she was very attractive. Perhaps there might be more like her in the militia, he thought. In hindsight, he realized that was what he was supposed to think. She was a recruiter, after all. She also informed him that there were several bases around the planet. In his off time, he would be able to go sightseeing wherever he was stationed. With that, he joined the militia. He hoped he had joined for the opportunities the militia offered and not because of the pretty recruiter.

Upon graduation, he was shipped right back to Provost. So much for the opportunities. Bitter, he went looking for the recruiter. He had a few choice comments for her. However, he discovered she was gone. Her replacement, a dark handsome young man explained that she had consistently made recruitment quota. In recognition of her accomplishment, she had been promoted and transferred.

Shortly after that, he became company clerk. That was not what he had joined the militia to do, but he was not stupid either. At least, he hoped not. Following in the way of the recruiter, he performed his duties to the best of his abilities. Eventually, someone would notice and perhaps he would be rewarded with a transfer.

He had been with the company for over a year when invaders attacked the Draconis Combine. In that time, he came to appreciate his job. He enjoyed going into town for the officers. He was also in a position to do favors for the senior enlisted. In return, they did not assign him to any unpleasant duties. Of course, the junior enlisted were unhappy that he was not there to share in the mud crawling and trench digging exercises. He could not blame them, so he did what he could to make their lot in life easier. The griping eased off when he brought in that case of pocket warmers for the infantry and did not charge them for it.

That had been a good time, but things changed drastically with the news of the invaders. The instructors at the training base were regular troops of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. They departed for the battle front, replaced by the walking wounded. The training changed in tempo, becoming more hurried and frantic. Being instructed by men who had been in recent combat, still sporting their wounds, had added an urgency to their training.

The plan had called for more time. Eventually, additional DCMS troops would bolster the militia forces. In the meantime, the militia would train as the DCMS trained for an easier integration.

Subsequent events did not happen that way.

When the instructors had left, they had taken much of the militia's equipment with them. For example, there were not enough handguns to equip the infantry and vehicle crews. It was up to James and his contacts in town to arm them. He could not completely alleviate the lack of sidearms. Going to a law enforcement supplier, he discovered that there was little call to supply such hardware to the small Provost police force. What few pistols the company had on inventory went to the infantry. He also had to get extra ammunition since the new weapons were not compatible with what the militia had been equipped. With the extra hours he put in, he was unable to train with the infantry. When the time came to deploy with the company, he would only be a liability. He was sure this was what the captain, Tai-i Tsubaki, had in mind when he detached James on verbal orders. When the invaders arrived, he was supposed to set fire to the base and destroy all of the records. Inferno missile ammunition had already been placed in every building. All James had to do was activate the priming charges that would detonate the warheads. Each charge had a thirty second timer that would allow him to leave each building before it blew up.

James had been concerned that the attack would be a false alarm. The company had deployed in the hills to draw the enemy away from the town. Alone, he could only guess when to fire the charges. He did not want to destroy the base if the enemy did not come. He did not want to act prematurely, in case the company returned and there was no place for them to live. While he waited, he hid the company's personnel records in a safe place. In the event the company returned to base, he would not have to reconstruct the information all over again.

On that fateful day of the battle, he did not see the advancing BattleMechs until it was too late. He had expected to hear gunfire as they passed through the town, but there was none to hear. The Tai-i was right. Without armed resistance, the town was safe from destruction. With the 'Mechs advancing, he was trapped in the company headquarters hut. His only weapon was a carbine, issued the day the company left him behind. The thought of combating heavily armored BattleMechs was suicide. This was not the life experience he had signed up for. While he waited for the 'Mechs to arrive, he did what he could. He purged the computer data base with extreme prejudice, firing his carbine through the hard drive. A conventional data purge would have taken too long. The risk of that information falling into enemy hands was too great. The deafening gunshots had reverberated in the room, but to his amazement they were not heard by the forces outside. When the 'Mechs bypassed the base, James assumed that he still had an opportunity to fire the inferno rounds and burn down the base. That was when he saw the jump infantry. They were like nothing he had ever seen before. They were larger than any men he had ever known, covered with armor and armed with what looked like rocket packs on their shoulders.

There were five of the armored troopers. Immediately, they began entering the buildings. James saw them emerge, dropping the detonation charges on the ground and jumping away. The charges blew up harmlessly. It would only be a matter of time before they came to the headquarters building. He decided to sneak away. There was an inferno charge in the Tai-i's office, but he chose not to trigger it. He had hoped that the jump troops would assume the camp had been abandoned. He did nothing that would give away his presence.

He escaped through the hole in the fence at the back of the base. One of the hover tanks had lost control and floated through the fence. There had been no time to repair the damage, for which James was grateful. He managed to get some clothes from a local homestead and he stashed his carbine and uniform in an irrigation ditch.

From the hills, the sound of battle did not last very long. The initial explosions sounded like distant thunder. The missile fire and exploding vehicles he heard after that sounded less natural.

He masqueraded as a farmer. Oddly enough, the invaders made no attempt to search the population for individuals like him. However, they did detain suspicious people for questioning, but these were always released. Weeks later, the invaders departed.

When he returned to the base, he discovered that the barracks had been stripped of all personal belongings. The stock room and armory were stripped. Even the gunshot computer in headquarters was missing. Everything was gone. Everything but the company records he had managed to conceal.

It was about that time he met Gun-so Tran's father. The man had come to Provost searching for his daughter. He had told the distraught man everything he knew and the man had gone up into the hills. There was something about the man's need for answers that haunted James. He imagined families all over the planet, waiting for word about their loved ones. Word that would not come because the Provist militia garrison had ceased to exist.

Fearing the carnage Tran's father would find in the hills, James wanted to give him something to remember his daughter by. He had taken pictures of Tran. He had pictures of all of the company, actually, but he needed a computer to copy the media. He went to the library, one of his contacts, and transcribed the photographs onto a memory card. When her father came back, he gave it to him. The man had been very grateful, since his search had proven in vain.

James could imagine that search. Upon his return from the hills, he was wet and his clothes stained with mud. He reeked with the scent of death. It did not take a genius to know that he must have been digging up remains to view them.

After the man had departed, James considered taking up the sad task of informing the other families of their loss. He had home of record addresses for the entire company. Using the library computer again, he composed letters to families and included the pictures he had taken of their lost loved ones. He mailed the letters directly to the families of the militia.

As for the deceased members of the DCMS, contacting their next of kin proved to be impractical. Located off planet, they were spread throughout the Combine. James did not have the funding to contact them through ComStar's hyperpulse communication network, much less send anything by JumpShipping. He had been at wit's ends until he realized that the Coordinator had an official representative on the planet.

The troops of the Draconis Combine served the Coordinator, the leader of the Combine. Most assuredly the Coordinator would do right by the troops who had given their lives for him. He took the material to the Administrator's office in New Kanto. He had intended to hand it over in person to the Administrator himself. That did not happen, most likely because he was a lowly go-cho in a vanquished militia. He waited in the Assistant to the Aministrator's office for hours. When he first asked for an audience, he was informed that the Administrator was in conference. The Administrator did not entertain walk-ins. James should have made an appointment weeks ago. Later, he was at lunch. In the afternoon, he was out of the office and was not due back that day. James had the feeling he had been given the brush off. With the militia destroyed, James was no longer being paid. He could not afford to stay overnight in New Kanto. He resigned himself to dealing with a lower official who would or would not remember to pass the letters along, as it pleased him. He left the letters in the assistant's keeping and returned to Provost.

On the trip home he wondered what the bureaucrats had done during the raid. Had they remained in their offices dispensing their duty or had they gone into hiding? It had seemed impolite to ask them at the time. He had seen no sign of combat damage in the city, but he had not gone to the space port. It was there the Combine BattleMechs had made their futile last stand. The news agencies reported that their techs had teamed up with the infantry and had gone down fighting in glory. Of the Administrator and his staff, there had been no news. The agencies would be very careful not to construe criticism of a representative of the Coordinantor. As the saying went, no news was good news.

Go-cho James Everly was the sole survivor of Provost's Militia. As he would come to discover, there were very few militia members left anywhere on Demeter. As he had learned in New Kanto, there were no survivors at all from the DCMS. With the departure of the invaders, there was no perceived need for reinforcements. It was unknown when the military would return to garrison planet. There had been no word from the DCMS high command at all.

As for the militia, what was left of it was disbanded. There was little funding and less interest in maintaining civilian soldiers. Especially when civilian soldiers were no better than cannon fodder. With that, James' career as a soldier had ended.

In the meantime, the Provost town council had voted to erect a monument to the valiant defenders. It was the least they could do for the soldiers who had managed to divert destruction from their town at the cost of their own lives. They nominated a committee to oversee the project and solicited ideas from the townsfolk.

One idea was to make the militia base into a museum. That proved to be very expensive and out of the question. Another suggestion was to raze the base and make it into a peace park. There was some merit to that, but expense was still an obstacle. Then there was the plan to design a bicycle and hiking trail up into the hills that followed the path of battle.

In the end, they reached a compromise. Stone markers would be planted at the sites where each tank and combat vehicle had been destroyed. The vehicles had since been removed for salvage, but their resting places had been recorded. All except one. It was known that the invaders had taken one tank with them when they left, but it was uncertain where it had been stopped. The track ruts had filled in and the field grass had grown back over it. Only the berms had remained. Next to the front gate to the base, a large stone marker would be set up. On it would be the names of all the fallen.

Using the records that James had concealed from the invaders, the committee made up a list. There had been controversy over the arrangement of the names. At first, it was decided to list them alphabetically. To some, that idea seemed disrespectful to the leading members of the company. For example, the sergeant major would be near the bottom of the list. Another method was to make two lists, one for the DCMS and one for the militia. That idea seemed shameful. After all, the members of the two services had died together. In the end, the committee chose to list the names by rank, regardless of service.

In addition, the peace park idea was selected, but as a civic project. The base would be gradually demolished, the building material recycled. Volunteers would make the grounds of the base into a park.

As for James Everly, he was conveniently forgotten. He had done nothing, save shoot up a computer, to combat the invaders. There was the question of his survival. He had related his story to whoever cared to listen. He was unable to prove that he had been given verbal orders from Tai-i Tsubaki. No one had said anything to him, but he knew the thought was there; that he had deserted in the face of the enemy. He had even thown away his uniform and weapon. Later, he had gone back to the ditch, but he could not find them. As for his listeners, he could not blame them for their thoughts. In his own mind, he considered himself a coward. With his guilt, he did nothing to change that assessment. He had not attempted to resist the enemy at all. Worse, in his eyes, he betrayed his chance of being a journalist. Looking back on that day, he regretted that he had not thought to take pictures of the unfamiliar war machines. Pictures of those designs would have been of great intelligence value. With a few snapshots, he could have redeemed himself.

With his discharge from the militia, he found himself without support. In time, he was offered a part time position at the library which he accepted.

He recalled the letters he wrote. Surrounded by the media in the library, James decided to write a book. His story was nothing, but perhaps he could get the story from other points of view. He set to contacting other members of militia.

It was during this project that he received a thank you letter from the Administrator for Demeter. The letters he had written had been forwarded to Luthien, where the proper authorities would take care of the matter. It was possible that they would contact him in case there were any questions. It further commended him for his duty to the dragon. James had not thought of it that way at all. His efforts had been on behalf of the families. However, pleased with the recognition, he filed the letter away with the material for his book.


	7. Chapter 6

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Six by D G Palmer

Fort Bivouac

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

05 March 3051

It was early morning. The barracks room was dark, quiet save for the occasional rustling of sleepers beneath blankets. Dim red lights illuminated an aisle down the center of the room. Two rows of double bunks lined the walls, their ends facing the aisle. A small figure strolled quietly along one wall. Slivers of red light struck her as she passed each bunk. An observer would have seen a short woman wearing a white duty belt over her jumpsuit. The white of the belt showed up as scarlet by the red lighting.

Reaching the end of the bunk room, the woman known only as Minh turned the corner around the end bunk and crossed towards the other side. With each step, she was conscious of the dark baton bouncing against her thigh. It was suspended from the duty belt through a metal ring. She paused to look down the aisle. No movement caught her eye. She then checked the door at her end of the room. It was never locked, so she made sure that no one lurked outside.

The barracks where she now lived did not seem to be as old as the fortress-like dining facility and the warriors' quarters. Unlike those buildings, these barracks had shuttered windows.

There was more room in the barracks than there had been in the cramped women's bunk room onboard the JumpShip. Like the bondsmen quarters on the ship, the barracks were completely segregated by gender. Moreover, the barracks were mixed-caste accommodations, made up of transient techs and trusted bonds. Each barracks room had it's own washroom, break room, and office.

To Minh's disappointment, the barracks showers did not have heated air dryers. Minh was lent a towel until she was able to get her own. In the meantime, Minh had to label her clothing and bedding. Minh did not have to label her laundry before. On the ship she had a laundry bag all to herself.

The previous day she had been issued a half dozen sandals, another pair of shoes, three towels, and other items. The extra amount of sandals concerned her. There would be no need to issue so many unless she was expected to be moving away again. She had assumed that she was permanently landed on Strana Mechty. The thought that she would be enduring hyper space translations again distressed her. Then she remembered Batiste's admonition that she needed to eat before space jumps. That had been just after the last jump, hinting to her that she would be leaving the planet.

The nightmare was not over. She hated the fact that she lost total control of herself. During the jumps, she hallucinated. Once she thought she was falling though space. Another time she saw a man's face in the overhead. After the jump was over, the duress did not end. Her stomach rebelled, emptying everything she had eaten. She would be weak and shaky for hours. With no little effort, she shook herself from that reverie. She finished crossing the barracks room and began walking along the other wall.

The roving watchstander, understandably called the rover, came by twice an hour. He was due to check on her any time now. He arrived by the internal hallway that linked all of the barracks rooms in the building. The door to the hall was by the washroom. The other door at the end of the room that she had just checked led directly outside. The ferro-crete stairs outdoors led to ground level, three floors down.

She was standing the two to four watch. It was boring, but two hours was better than a full four, even though she stood two watches a night. It was a concession to the other women in the room. When Batiste had first brought her to the barracks, he made it clear in no uncertain terms that she was to be available to the Elementals from four in the morning until six in the evening. The time that was left was supposed to provide her with at least full eight hours of sleep. However, the tech who was in charge of the barracks room had assigned the two watches to her. Normally, the occupants stood the watches on a rotating basis, but Minh's assignment was permanent. That was because the other women were responsible for cleaning and other work around the barracks in the evening. For the techs, that meant that they had a duty day every once in a while. A senior tech would be in charge of the room and junior techs and bondswomen would serve as sentries at night. The bondswomen were sent on menial work assignments during the day. Since Minh was unavailable to the work force, that left the evening sentry duty. With the first watch starting first thing in the evening and the one she stood now, she had barely five hours left for sleep. Some of that time was used when she washed herself prior to going to bed and again when she awoke before her morning watch. It was an effort to wake up sometimes. Back on the JumpShip, she was accustomed to getting more sleep.

Her daily routine did not have much variation. After she was relieved from her watch, she would change from her jumpsuit to her leotard and trunks. Leaving her barracks, she would meet her point of Elementals at the nature trail. At least that was what she called it. In the early morning, the overhanging trees still kept the exercise route shrouded in darkness. It was disconcerting to run, even at Minh's deliberate pace, when she could barely see. Yet, the large men ran faster around the turns and twists. Keller, at least she thought it was Keller, actually leaped between trees without colliding with their bows. If Keller were to misjudge his vault, Minh wondered which would take the most damage, the tree or the Elemental. Anyone who tried to dismiss these large men as clumsy brutes would find themselves mistaken. After the run, stretches, and calisthenics, Minh returned to the barracks to shower. For some reason, there was little cold water in the morning. In the evening, there was no warm water. It was disconcerting. She wondered if it had anything to do with the old water tower outside. Someone had said that the tower retained the heat from the previous day, so morning showers were warm. In the evening, the chill from the previous night had made the showers cool. Minh could not reconcile that speculation with her own common sense. She would think that the water tank would be coolest in the morning and warmest in the evening. Maybe it had to do with the residual water in the underground pipes. The water was insulated from the day and night by the ground. It would take time for the affected water in the tank to reach the barracks. This was just one subject that occupied her mind during the quiet night.

Her meal habits underwent a radical change from her time on the JumpShip. She had always been a moderate eater. Her modestly sized body had not required a large intake of protein and carbohydrates, even when she had been introduced to increased physically active regimen on the ship. Now that she was planetside, her food intake had increased to keep pace with the new intensity of her physical activity. At breakfast, she found that she had a strong appetite. In the middle of the day, she found herself unusually ravenous and she dug into her lunch with gusto. The hand to hand training she participated in burned off the excess calories she had taken in. By the time supper arrived, she was satisfied with the small portions she was previously accustomed.

She usually ate by herself for breakfast, since she lived apart from the Elementals. The warriors were accustomed to seeing her eating in their facility. No attempt was made to throw her out, but she was still unwelcome. Most of the warriors ignored her. A few referred to her by title, calling her 'bondswoman', as if it were an epithet. She ate with the Elementals at lunch and supper, since she shared their company throughout the day.

The early morning watch permitted her to think and prepare for her day. Her time was more restrictive and she discovered she needed to maintain her perspective. When she had first been captured by these people, she could not have imagined that she would be living with them. Despite her low standing with them, she found herself bestowed with a measure of trust. No one stood over her as she worked. No one guarded her. In fact, for the next half hour, she was the guard. There was nothing to stop her if she decided to run away. However, she did not wish to run and she thought about that. It was at odds with her duty to the Draconis Combine. The guilt that had driven her to attempt to take her own life was still there. Nagatake, her former commander when she was in the militia, was the one who had instilled her with the need to take responsibility. He was also the one who broke through her madness with a reason to live and grow. Until she left the JumpShip, he continued to check on her when she visited the bondsmen area. He had become a friend and mentor to her while he supervised the other bondswomen.

The women in the barracks had been wary and aloof of Minh when she first arrived. Some were outspoken against her because of her non-work status. There was some commentary about her confident manner, which belied her small and vulnerable seeming stature. Some said that her apparent indifference to her new barracks mates was a result of having an Elemental as her patron.

Minh compared the women on the ship with the women she now lived with in the barracks. When she first saw that she would be living with women, she felt uncomfortable. The women she had known on the ship did not care about themselves. They had been lackluster, seeming not to bathe or even clean their quarters. The women in the barracks were different. Minh assumed that it was due to the actual supervision by the tech in charge. On the ship, the women were not closely supervised. The warriors did not view them as useful and seemed to delegate their existance accordingly. Things did not change with them until Nagatake had been placed in charge of them.

Some of the techs had been designated to move to another room in the barracks. They were to become the supervisory core over the influx of the shipboard bondswomen due to arrive in the next few days. Their departure would free up some of the lower bunks. Minh was not the only woman who was bunked on the upper tier. The other women had made it clear to her that they had the "rank" and "time superiority" to move to lower bunks. As inconvenient as the top bunk was to Minh, she understood and agreed with their point of view. That did not mean that she did not intend to change to another bunk when the women moved. One of the upper bunks to be vacated was closest to the washroom. There was more light for her to get dressed and make up her bunk when she assumed her morning watch.

Thinking of those incoming women reminded Minh of the large bully Vera. She hated bullies. She almost looked forward to seeing her again, hoping the wicked woman would start something. Something that Minh would finish.

Entering the washroom, she saw her scowl in mirror over the bank of sinks. She silently chided herself as she forced herself to blank her facial expression. She wanted to project a visage of serenity and calm, hiding her true feelings. If people knew of her uncertainty and emotional instability, they would not hesitate to take advantage of her. It was bad enough her small size marked her as a potential victim. The hard look in her eyes faded, taking on a distant quality. On an impulse, she twirled a strand of hair around her finger in front of her ear and stuck her tongue out at her reflection. She remembered Consuela. Connie had been her childhood friend. The two had grown up together. When they were young, they almost looked like twin sisters. As they got older, their differences became apparent as Connie grew taller and more elegant. Her olive complexion became more developed. With her Spanish and Vietnamese heritage, she had the exotic good looks that modeling agencies looked for. She had talked of becoming a fashion model or a holovid star. With her round face and delicate features, Minh did not feel she was as attractive as her friend. In listening to Connie, Minh began looking at her own future. It had been said that Connie was a bad influence on Minh, putting ideas into her head. Watching holovids at her friend's house added to that influence, something that was not available in her own home.

Minh noted that her hair, normally cut level with her jaw, had grown down almost to neck length. Parted over her left eye, the coarse hair framed her face. She was ordinarily fastidious in her grooming, but she had not trimmed her hair since coming ground side. She could not explain why, but she had an uneasy feeling whenever she considered it. A growing sense of dissatisfaction had pervaded her consciousness, something she was unable to define. Perhaps it was her need to live in harmony with the other women. It could be that she was homesick. She had been forced to live with Clan Wolf for months now. Her life was still undergoing change and she missed the familiarity of her home. Ever since she had been taken captive by the clan, she had not been given any say in her circumstance. She did not have a choice. Her life was not her own. She found herself comparing her life now to when she lived with her family. She had been expected to surrender her freedom to a man of her parents' choosing. She left home because she had not been permitted to live her own life. That choice had resulted in her capture barely six months later. When she had learned that Keen had intended to train her to become an Elemental, she had willingly gone along with the plan. It had not been her idea, but she had been intrigued by the prospect. As the months passed, Minh had a limited view of the clan as seen onboard the space bound JumpShip. She had never learned the name of the ship, figuring if she had been required to know that, she would have been so informed. Given her low standing among the segregationist warriors, it was difficult to maintain any semblance of self esteem. She had been busy on the ship, having little time to dwell on herself. Now, with the four hours she spent on two watches, she had plenty of time to think. She felt uncomfortable with the doubt that sat heavy in her belly. At the root of the matter was the question of her principles. That was an unresolved question. She was an active participant in her own training, training that was being conducted under the supervision of members of an enemy of her homeland. By any standard she could think of, she was guilty of treason.

The training from the Elementals had given her a sense of self confidence, even though she knew they were holding back in their bouts with her. The practice and techniques had provided her with the ability to defend herself against those who would prey upon her. Admittedly, those opponents had proven less than proficient in their attempts to subdue and victimize her. Nevertheless, she was grateful for what providence had bestowed upon her. It was one of the things that made her feel guilty. It was her inability to attain reconciliation in her own mind that led to her emotional restlessness.

_I think too much_, she thought.

Giving herself a final look, she finished her walk around in the washroom and returned to the bunk room to wait for the roving watch. The rovers were always men and they were tapped for duty from the other barracks rooms in the building. They were not allowed to enter the female rooms, so she remained at the end of the barracks where she could keep an eye on much of the room as she waited.

Minh had settled into her new routine and she wondered what it said about herself. She had left her home because of what her family had expected of her, to fullfill a carefully regimented subservient role.

She looked at the white bond cord on her right wrist. To her it was the Wolf Clan symbol of submission.

Stirred by her fond memories of Connie, she found herself thinking of her former life. Her parents had wanted her to become the wife of a MechWarrior she had never met. His parents controlled a business that her parents wanted an alliance with. Minh had refused to see the point of it. It seemed almost inconceivable that every family would join together for perceived benefits. It did not make sense to eventually unite the whole planet in marriage just for an advantage in business.

Her mother and father had married by arrangement. Her mother had been an obedient subject to her own father's family leadership. Now married to Minh's father, she exercised her own rule.

Minh had behaved the dutiful daughter, obedient and responsible. As the day approached when she would become eighteen years old, she had made her personal intentions known. She would not be staying home. She would not take up an obligation not of her making.

Her parents did not take her seriously at first. After all, she was young. Inexperienced young people said ridiculous things. Minh remained adamant. To her surprise, it was not her father, but her mother who began to object to her plan. At first, it had been with mild rebuke. Was she not being selfish? Minh had believed her mother would understand. Then she began to see the power her mother wielded in the home. She realized her mistake in thinking that her mother was in a circumstance of helplessness. Her mother actually commanded more than two children. There was the household help and sometimes her father.

Her mother had responded to Minh's intransigence by becoming more demanding, insisting that her daughter give up her foolish dream.

Minh looked at the white cord again. The bondswoman commanded nothing. She served five men. She did not count the sixth man, Don, since he was only a tech and not a warrior. He was more like her co-worker. He was in no way equal to the five Elementals.

She sighed. Her thoughts seemed to take her in circles. She did not know if she would ever see her family again. It seemed logical that the war would end one day. By that time, she may have dishonored herself so much that her family would not care to see her again. They would leave her to her disgrace and she would not blame them.

For a moment she wondered what her life would have been like if she had obeyed her parents. What would she be doing now as the wife of that stranger? The pit of her stomach felt unsettled. A sign of dissatisfaction. She wondered if she had regrets. She was not sure, but the questions remained. What if she had wed? Would she have been happy with her MechWarrior husband now? So far away from her home, there were no answers.

Despite the circumstances, she found it difficult to have regrets. That was not to say she did not lament the deaths of her comrades, but she found herself respecting, even liking, many of the people she now associated with. She mourned their passing, but she had not really grieved. Sometimes it bothered her when she thought about it. She felt there was a fundamental deficiency in her thought process that permitted her to behave this way.

Of course, there were those individuals who persecuted her for her bond cord, but she suffered their prejudice as best she could. She was starting to understand that her point did not just tolerate her, but that there was a kind of rough affection. From their point commander, there were deeper feelings. An actual attraction. For Minh, it was mutual. With that desire, she had trouble trusting herself. That was the biggest reason she lacked the volition to escape.

Minh's mind wandered back to the present. This morning Batiste said they would go swimming in the lake. Minh was in need of a balanced workout. She had her reservations about that. She did not know how to swim. She had never been in a body of water larger than a bathtub, much less seen one. Upon her enlistment in the militia, she had flown over an ocean on her world, but it had been an overcast day on that flight. She had seen nothing of it but the solid top of the cloud cover.

Minh heard the hallway door swing slowly open. Looking at the clock over the door to the barracks room office, she noticed that the rover had arrived on time. She walked around the corner of the office and looked down the short passage to the door. The rover watched her cautiously as she approached. He remained in the doorway, which was as far as he could go into the women's area.

Minh stopped and stood at attention. With a sharp motion, she raised her right hand in a salute. Keeping her hand straight, her fingertips touched her eyebrow.

"Company One F reports all secure," she reported in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, okay," the rover raised his hand in a wave. It was not even a proper mockery of a salute. With that lazy acknowledgement, Minh dropped her hand to her side and watched the rover leave.

Minh did not know if clan warriors saluted each other. It was obvious that the members of the tech and bond castes did not. However, it was how she had been trained in the militia and she saw no reason not to behave in a professional manner when on duty. That explained why she was sometimes referred to as a little martinet. That was one of many words that she was determined to research when the opportunity arose. She did not know what a martin was, but assumed that martinet meant the female version of it. Or perhaps a smaller version, like referring to a small kitchen as a kitchenette.

Minh listened to the man's footsteps fade away, making sure the man was actually leaving. She did not trust any of the men in the barracks. There had been an incident a few days before, which explained the rover's caution with Minh.

While Minh had been reporting to the rover at that time, two men had surreptitiously entered the bunk room from the outside stairway. They were waiting for her when she returned to her rounds in the dark room. She had not expected to be attacked. One of the men had wrapped his arms around her from behind while the other grappled for her ankles in preparation to carry her away. It had been an awkward assault and the man at her feet did not have a good grip on her. Instinctively, she snap kicked him in the chin. When her legs fell back to the floor, the other man was forced to adjust his grip or lose his control on Minh. That provided her with an opening and she took full advantage of it. She jabbed him in the ribs, forcing him to release her. She instantly shifted herself around, seized his arm and swung him against the office wall. He hit with a loud smacking noise. That was when the rover rushed into the room. At first, she thought he was coming to her assistance. With baton in upraised hand, he charged at her. His intentions were suddenly clear to her. Without bothering to draw her own baton, she ducked under his reach and gripped his forearm. Turning, she dropped to her knees and pulled him over herself. The rover fell onto his back on the floor, crying out in pain with the impact. By then the other two men had regained their feet, but they proved to be no match for the silent, dark-eyed fury.

Her bunk mates had been awakened by the disturbance. They had been surprised by Minh's ability to defend herself. As she came to find out, the attack itself was not a surprise. At least not to the other women. The men in the barracks had made it a practice of testing the women sentries. They said it was to ensure readiness. Minh was convinced it was a silly premise and said so. As a result of her display, the women showed a cautious respect for her. Some even asked for instruction. There was not much time in Minh's schedule for that, but she gave them half an hour after her evening watch. She kept it simple, demonstrating defensive moves that novice learners could easily master.

She cared about these clan women, even though they were not her friends. Some were not even friendly. Nevertheless she wondered at her confusion. She thought of many things during this quiet time of the morning. One subject kept troubling her. She found it difficult to reconcile where her loyalty lie. Did she belong to the Draconis Combine or to the clan?

xxXxxxXxx

Minh had already begun eating breakfast when her team of Elementals arrived at the dining facilty. The service line had just opened and She had been one of the first individuals in. She usually did not eat this early. About this time she would be part way through her run. She did not understand why they had to wait until sunrise to go swimming, but the wait had provided for a leisurely morning.

Keller was the first one to sit at her table. With short red hair and a light complexion, he stood out the most compared to the other members of the point. Without saying a word, he took a sausage link between finger and thumb and dropped in onto Minh's tray. It had become a ritual for the Elementals to give her a little extra food at each meal. Although she had increased her meal portions, the Elementals had decided that she was not eating enough. She looked at the greasy link.

"If I eat too much, I will sink," she said. With her inexperience around water, it seemed to be a valid concern.

Keller laughed in reply. Coming from his powerful chest, it made a deep sound.

Batiste sat down beside Minh. He was a bronze man. With his scalp barren of hair, Minh did not know if that was natural or a personal affectation. As he picked up a sticky bread, Minh held one hand over her tray and pointed at the link. Keller laughed again as Batiste ate the bread instead of giving it to the bondswoman. Anton and Wendal joined them moments later. They were not as light nor as dark as their teammates.

Minh noticed that Point Commander Keen was not present. Due to his rank, he had separate quarters from his point. No one remarked on his absence and she assumed he would be arriving eventually. Until he did so, Batiste was the undisputed leader in Keen's stead.

Minh finished eating first. She wanted to wait for the Elementals at the table, but she was afraid they would give her more of their food. Not knowing where they were going to swim, she had to wait for them. Deciding she would wait for them outside, Minh stood up to leave.

"Stay with the truck," Batiste ordered her.

"Aff, Batiste," Minh was relieved to have gotten away without having to eat too much extra food. As she turned away, something flew towards her. A sticky bread landed on her tray.

"Eat that. It will tide you over until lunch," Anton said.

Minh sat in the back of the truck, her feet dangling off of the bed. It was a stake truck, identical to the one that she had ridden her first day on Strana Mechty.

The lake must be far away if we are going to drive there, she decided. As she wondered about the new activity she would experience, movement caught her attention. It was the feline grace that turned her head, but she had not intended to stare. It was an Elemental, one that Minh had never seen before. The woman's skin seemed to glow with a golden hue in the dawning light. Her head was almost completely shaven, except for a long platinum-blond braid in back.

The woman gave Minh a sidelong glance, then looked directly at her when Minh did not look away. As Minh would think about it later, the Elemental seemed to pause without actually pausing. Then her eyes looked down at Minh's right wrist. Seeing the bond cord, her eyes flicked back to Minh's face just before she turned away in dismissal. Minh watched the braid bounce against the woman's broad back as she entered the dining facility.

All of the Elementals she had seen so far had merely kept their hair cut short. She pondered the tactical implications of having a long braid like that. An opponent could grab the hair quite easily. Of course, someone foolish enough to do that could get seriously hurt. The braid offered little control for the opponent while her limbs were still free to inflict punishment. Minh was still pondering the Elemental when her team came out of the facility.

"Do you know how to drive?" Batiste asked, catching Minh by surprise.

"Aff," Minh shook off the image of the blond braid.

"Can you drive this truck?"

"I have driven trucks like this at home," Minh said. Home. It conjured up visions of what she had left behind.

"Get in. Show me," Batiste gestured for her to demonstrate.

"Hold on," Keller quipped to the others as they got onto the back of the truck.

Minh sat on the driver's side of the cab as Batiste got in on the other side. Minh could understand why she had been given the opportunity to drive. There was less than ample leg room for Elementals. It would be awkward for them to operate the pedals with their legs cramped beneath the dash. Minh had the opposite problem. She had to sit forward on the seat just so she could place her feet on the pedals.

"Can she even see over the dash?" Keller asked from the rear of the truck.

Minh snorted to herself. She was not _that_ short. She could see the broad expanse of the engine compartment before the windshield. What she could not see was the road. From the standpoint of safety, she needed to be able to see any obstacles in the road.

"I guess that your trucks are smaller back home," Batiste commented dryly. Minh felt the emotional pull from his use of the word 'home'.

"Neg, they are the same size," Minh shook her head, but she did not know if it was to emphasize her response or to shake out the unwelcome melancholy feelings. "I used a cushion to sit on when I drove."

"I think I can find you something to use, provided you really can drive," he said. He handed her a key. "Fire this thing up."

Minh looked at the key blankly, then examined the instrument panel. Unlike the trucks on her family farm, there was no fuel lever. In it's place was a keyed lock. She looked down at the floor and saw only two pedals. She assumed them to be the brake and accelerator. There was no clutch and, more importantly, no starter pedal. She looked down at the transmission hump between her and Batiste on the floor. There was no gear shift lever. Instead, there was a control lever attached to the steering column.

"You said you could drive," Batiste said accusingly.

"The clutch and starter are missing," Minh replied, aware that her face was becoming very warm.

Batiste took her hand in his and guided it to the lock on the dash. He inserted the key and twisted her hand in a clockwise motion. The key turned past the letter H and an inverted triangle shape before reaching the letter S. The truck shook as the diesel engine rumbled to life. As he pulled her hand from the key, the key rotated back automatically to the triangle shape and stopped. Minh realized that the engine was governed by the key and lock mechanism.

"The engine is already warm, so you do not need to heat it," Batiste pointed out the H setting on the lock. "At night or in cold weather, you need to hold the key there for about half a minute or so, depending on how cold the temperature is."

"He is teaching her to drive!" Keller sounded incredulous.

"I am walking!" Anton declared and promptly hopped off the truck. He walked around to the window on Batiste's side. "I will meet you at the lake. If she drives into it, do not look to me to help pull it back out." He favored Minh with a serious look, then he jogged away. A moment later, Keller was running with him.

Batiste looked back and saw that Wendal was lying on his back, hands clasped under his head. He seemed to be resting. Batiste looked to the diminutive driver, then decided to fasten his seat belt.

"If I wear my belt, I will not be able to reach the pedals," Minh commented, having observed him.

"When we get to the armory, you will be able to wear your seat belt," Batiste pointed at her feet, then over past her knees. "Now, put your foot on the brake pedal and release the hand brake over there."

Minh pushed down on the brake pedal. She found the parking brake lever just beneath the dash by her door. It snapped downward as she moved it.

"Keep your foot on the brake until you are in the correct gear. You are in 'park' now," Batiste continued, taking her hand and placing it on the control lever on the steering column. Under his control, Minh moved the lever as he recited the postions. "Reverse, neutral, low power, high power, drive. We are not loaded down, so use the 'drive' gear."

Although the sun was rising, Minh found the control for the headlights and turned them on.

"Do not go fast," Batiste cautioned her.

Minh obeyed his injunction. She managed to reach the armory without mishap.

"Stay here," Batiste got out of the truck and unlocked the armory door. It used a hand operated combination. Only the weapons tech Don and the Elementals knew the combination. Minh was not permitted unrestricted access to weapons. She was never left alone in the armory. Had she bothered to look, she would not have seen Batiste operate the lock. He used his body to shield the combination from her. He entered the armory and after a few minutes emerged with an armful of flak vests.

Motioning Minh out of the truck, he lay three vests down sideways on the seat. Designed to fit the broad torsos of Elementals, the vests covered the seat and curled up the backrest. He placed the remaining two vests across the seatback.

With the armory locked again, they got back into the truck. With the few inches the vests added to her height, Minh could see the road in front of the truck. However, she was not able to rest her back on the seat. The vests were not thick enough and Batiste refused to let her adjust the seat forward.

"Here," Batiste folded the top two vests over on themselves.

"That is better," Minh settled herself in the seat. "But the vests are in the way of the seat belt."

"Then drive very, very carefully," Batiste counseled her in a reasonable tone as he fastened his own belt once more.

Minh drove very, very carefully as she followed his directions to the lake. It was not far at all. She did not understand why the team needed the truck. Plainly, Anton and Keller did not need it. They were waiting near the water when the truck arrived.

"Go to the bend there and back up off of the roadway," Batiste directed.

The spot Batiste had indicated would place the truck parallel to the water. Conscious of the attention she was getting from Anton and Keller, Minh slowed the truck before reaching the turn in the road. After completing the turn, she came to a full stop and put the truck into reverse gear. Using the mirrors mounted to both doors, she guided the truck backwards. She could feel the back tires leave the hard pack of dirt road and dig into the soft field grass. Moments later, the front tires were off the road. Just to be safe, Minh backed further from the roadway.

The truck came to a sudden stop with a sharp noise. Minh sank back against the flak vests due to the inertia.

"You can stop now," Keller called out, quite unnecessarily.

Minh looked at both mirrors to see what she had hit. She could not see anything. For a moment, she was afraid that she had run over Wendal. Perhaps he had gotten out of the truck before she had begun backing up. No, an Elemental would not be so immovable.

"You should have looked back over your shoulder," Batiste pointed at the window behind her. "It does not hurt to use all of your mirrors."

Minh saw that he meant the rearview mirror attached to the ceiling of the cab. She looked at it and saw the straight trunk of a tall tree. She could hear Keller laughing.

"She would hit the only tree around here," he chortled.

Minh leaned her head against the steering wheel. It was not the only tree there, she thought. It just stood out away from the others.

"At least I did not park in the water," Minh muttered. Batiste reached over and ruffled her hair.

"No harm done," he said.

"Wendal!" Minh blurted out as she suddenly remembered the Elemental riding in back. She straightened up in the seat, facing Batiste as she turned to look.

"Except for that last part, it was a nice ride," Wendal spoke from behind her. Minh whirled herself back around to see Wendal at her door. He held his closed fist up where she could see it, the thumb raised in approval. Without a further word, he walked toward the lakeside.

As they waited for the sun to actually appear in the sky, Keller went to the truck and brought a rucksack from the back. He dispensed squeeze tubes of skin cream.

"With your lily-white skin, you really need this," he said as he handed one of the tubes to Minh. Examining it, she saw it was a sun blocker.

The Elementals shrugged out of their jumpsuits. Minh was surprised that Batiste would need to protect his dark skin. Minh had followed their example and, like them, wore a leotard underneath her coveralls. Unlike them, she also wore trunks over her leotard. It was a concession to her modesty, since she was culturally unaccustomed to wearing tight fitting clothing.

Minh smeared the greasy paste on her arms and legs, then on the bare skin of her torso. She could detect no scent when she coated her face and throat. When she was done, she went down the slope to the water.

"Not too close," Batiste called out to her. "Not until the sun hits the water."

Minh looked back at him. She did not have any trouble seeing the Elementals complete their own sun paste application. Although the sun was not up yet, the darkness no longer offered concealment. Only the water remained opaque to her sight. She walked along the beach, noting the footprints in the mud. The lake appeared to be a popular place.

"We do not swim here at night," Keller stepped up beside her. "Snakes."

Minh had heard the term 'snake' before. It had been explained to her when she was in the militia. It was a derogatory term for citizens of the Draconis Combine. It came from the serpentine dragon emblem that adorned their uniforms and vehicles. In her mind, she imagined a red dragon winding it's way through the lake, it's four legs acting as fins.

Keller swung his arm in a side throw, flinging a rock at the lake. Following a shallow arc, it hit the surface of the water and skipped once before sinking with a small splash.

"You do not want to do that," Anton said in warning as he joined them.

"Oh, right," Keller chuckled. "It might stir up the snakes." Despite the glib response, he did not throw any more rocks into the lake.

The sun sent one beam of light over the horizon, illuminating the tree tops. The reflection of the trees masked the surface of the dark water. As Minh watched, the water rippled.

"Snake perhaps," Keller said. Minh looked at him, then saw the smile on Anton's face as he observed her. Suspicious, she returned her attention to the water. It had been still, but now it lapped gently along the shoreline.

Water began to swirl several meters away. Minh paced back and forth, trying to see through the reflection. There was something moving under the water. A shape appeared, water cascading from it's broad head. Two widely spaced eyes seemed to stare straight at Minh. The mouth appeared to be a silver slash. No, not a slash. It was 'V' in shape.

Minh ignored the Elementals as they laughed, most assuredly at her. The staring eyes were actually missile ports on a suit of Elemental battle armor. The silver mouth was the visor. The suit had paused to allow the water to spill from the armored surface. Minh recognized the markings on the battle armor. Having seen it two times before, she knew it to be Keen's suit.

Resuming it's march, the Elemental power armor advanced onto the beach, it's cloven feet leaving deep prints in the mud. As he marched toward the truck, Minh noticed that there was no sign that the suit had entered the water from this beach.

"That suite will need serious cleaning," Anton determined.

"Don is going to pitch a fit," Keller remarked.

Minh did not understand why these two Elementals held the weapons tech in such low regard. She had never seen them deal with any other techs, so perhaps it might not be personally directed at Don. She allowed that it could be warrior arrogance.

Minh watched the suit mount the truck and lay down on the flatbed. Wendal joined it, helping as Keen popped the seal on his suit. Wendal lifted the carapace and helped Keen disengage himself.

"Minh," Batiste stood beside her and pointed at the water. The sun had risen higher, it's rays illuminating the subsurface. The bottom near the shoreline was visible except where Keen had walked, having kicked up a muddy cloud. Farther in the lake, the water was solid green. The lake bottom was concealed as it dropped away. She had stopped believing in snakes, deciding that the Elementals had been teasing her. She decided the reason they had to wait for daybreak was so they could see into the water for their own safety. It seemed to be a logical assumption to Minh.

Batiste stepped forward into the water, his feet leaving hazy suspensions of silt behind. Minh followed, feeling the cool mud stick to the bottom and sides of her feet. When she reached the water, she was surprised to discover that the lake was warm. Smooth pebbles shifted beneath her soles. At least she thought they were pebbles. It made her uncomfortable, as well as the plant life that got caught between her toes. The water creeped up her legs. It was a freaky feeling, almost unbearable with her feet getting fouled with bottom grass. She shook her feet, clouding the water beneath her. She wanted to watch where she was walking, but she could not see. The water was up to her waist when she noticed that Batiste had stopped.

Batiste was looking at her, amusement lighting his features. Minh realized that she had a look of disgust on her face. She really did not like the feeling of mud under her feet. With quite a bit of effort, she assumed a neutral expression. She moved deeper into the water until she was even with him. Up to her chest in water, she could feel the pressure against her body. She could not believe the effort it took for her to push herself through the water. Swimming was going to be harder to do than she thought.

Batiste stood over her, the water only reaching up to his waist. He turned to face her and dropped to his knees, lowering himself deeper into the water. Minh stepped back to give him room.

Water suddenly closed over her head. In her shock, she gasped and drew in water. Somehow, she had lost her footing and had fallen off of the bottom of the lake. She could not understand how that could have happened, not that she had time to think about that. Overcome by animal instinct fueled by terror, she flailed her arms wildly, clutching madly for an elusive handhold that did not exist. Her throat hurt from the water she had inhaled. Lacking an adequate supply of air in her lungs, she could not expel it. Worse, her involuntary reflexes made her want to inhale more of the liquid in her need for air.

Her arm brushed something and she desperately latched onto it with both hands. Blind with hysteria, she fought to pull herself up, her legs kicking as she struggled to get air. As she inadvertantly gulped water, something pried her grip loose. She tried to regain her grapple but failed. At the same time, powerful arms gripped her body and pulled her free of the water.

Disoriented, she coughed as her ribcage was squeezed. With her ears full of water, she thought she understood the pressure in her skull. Her arms were pinned to her sides, so she could not wipe the water from her face. Her breathing sounded shrill as the pressure was released over her chest.

As the water cleared from her eyes, she could see that she was being carried toward the shore. Batiste was holding her to his chest, her head dangling over the surface of the water. Anton and Keller were splashing through the water toward her. She closed her eyes. The image of seeing the world upside down was making her queasy.

One pair of hands gripped her shoulders and another held her legs. Batiste released Minh and she found herself sitting on the beach.

Minh's eyes were wide, reflecting the wildness she still felt. Her chest heaving, she calmed down.

"Are you all right?" Keller asked, kneeling before her.

Minh nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Seeing the Elementals around her, she was embarrassed by her display. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before.

"You panicked," Batiste said in a level voice. There was no condemnation in his tone. "That was just a hole you stepped into. All you had to do was float. I was getting ready to explain that to you when that happened."

Minh nodded again, her dark eyes returning to normal. A little breeze hit her, creating a chill on her wet skin. She shivered and noticed the concern in the eyes of the team. She slowly picked herself up, her muscles feeling like rubber. Giving Batiste a questioning look, she took a tentative step toward the water.

"Are you sure?" Batiste put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should rest for a few minutes."

"Teach me," Minh said. "I want to learn."

"Very well," Batiste said. "We will not go so far out this time. What you need to know can be taught in shallow water."

"That really shook her up," Keller said quietly as the two reentered the water.

"She is a gutsy girl," Anton commented.

"You might want to stop teasing her," Wendal said. The other two Elementals looked at him. "At least for this morning."

"Really?" Keller said in challenge.

"She will be driving us back to the armory, quaff?" Wendal pointed out. "If she is rattled, she might do more than back into a tree."

"It would look bad if she knocked in the armory door," Keller chuckled in concession.

Minh heard none of that conversation. Batiste had her full attention as she settled down in the waist deep water up to her neck. When Batiste sat down, the water was up to his chest.

He explained the static qualities of water that affected the human body. Women had an extra layer of fat that men did not have, so they would find it easier to float than men. Minh did not really give that any credence, the drowning incident still fresh in her mind. With their additional muscle mass, Elementals had more body density so it took more effort for them to remain afloat. It was not their weight, it was the volume of their mass. Minh tried to understand that as he stated that it did not matter what an object weighed. A light object that displaced less water than it weighed would sink. A heavy object that displaced more water than it weighed would float.

Minh thought about her own muscle density. Since she had begun training with the Elementals, she had developed a firmer muscle tone. She had always been slender with little body fat. The only real sign of fat on her was the gentle swell of her bosom. She was sure that would not be enough to make her float. It was her belief that she was going to sink.

Batiste went on to explain the hydrodynamic property of liquid. He made her move her hand underwater, first with the flat of her palm pushing the water, then with her hand edgewise to it. Minh noticed it was easier for her hand to move when it was parallel to the motion. Once she understood that, Batiste demonstrated how a person treaded water. With the hand held at a slight angle, water could be fanned downward. Reversing the angle when the hand was reversed continued the fanning motion. From there, he taught Minh the breast stroke. With hands pointed forward, she reached out, then pulled herself by using her hands to oppose the water. He also taught her how to use her feet. With Batiste holding her arms, she was able to keep her body parallel to the surface of the water as she kicked her legs. By the end of the session, Minh was able to swim a bit as well as tread water. Given time, she felt she could come to enjoy swimming.

While they rested between instruction, Batiste informed Minh that swimming in cool water was refreshing. The warm water here would sap their strength and make them sleepy. Minh found that she concurred on that point. As Batiste paused, Minh listened to the other Elementals as they emerged from their swim. Keller had asked Keen about his trip beneath the surface of the lake.

"Visibility is very short," Keen pointed toward the green depths. "Even with lights, I could not see farther than three meters down there. The bottom is uneven, with fern and other plant life to provide additional concealment."

The comment sounded like the description of a battlefield to Minh.

"If he chooses augmented combat, is that where you will meet him?" Anton asked.

"The conditions down there are very limiting. Vision aside, electronic detection is neutralized by the terrain. I saw nothing but echoes. The water is too warm to use thermal imaging effectively. Ballistic weaponry is useless in water. Lasers and hand to hand are the only options," Keen explained. "Battle armor will provide little advantage here. If he chooses augmentation, I will meet him here."

The other Elementals nodded sagely. Minh pondered what Keen had just implied. He would presumably meet another Elemental beneath the water under conditions that would nullify both suits of powered armor. Keen had selected an environment that would not permit him to make optimal use of the features of his suit. It would actually make it harder for him to battle his opponent. That Keen was willing to undertake such a difficult challenge spoke volumes to Minh about his character. Then Anton made a curious comment.

"You have to win at least the first trial or we are finished."

_What did he mean by that?_ A trial implied judgment, with a potential ruling that could adversely affect the point. Something about what they were talking about seemed familiar to her, but she could not quite remember it. The thought seemed tantalizingly close. She felt she should know what was going on.

xxXxxxXxx

That evening, Minh had an unpleasant experience in the shower. Her ears and scalp stung from the shower spray. She could see in the mirror that her ears were bright red. By digging her fingers through her hair, she saw the top of her head was just as red.

"That has to hurt," Henna appeared behind Minh in the mirror. She was the tech in charge of the women in the bunk room.

"It does," Minh acknowledged.

"Next time, you will know to cover your ears," Henna continued. "But there is not really anything you can do for your head."

"Unless I cut my hair off," Minh peered at her reflection as she considered that idea. Henna did not know if the small woman was serious or not. "I could apply sun block there if I did that."

"In the meantime, you can do this," Henna said, taking Minh's washcloth and soaking it under the sink faucet with cold water. Wringing most of the water out, she lay the cloth on top of Minh's head. "It looks funny, but it will draw the sting out."

"Then you get sunburn too," Minh ventured, looking at the other woman. Henna had dark brown skin.

"Uh huh," Henna replied. "Everybody does, if they are not careful."

Minh wore the cloth until she lay down for the night. It felt good to finally rest. Even though she had only swam part of the morning, it seemed that it had taken quite a bit out of her. As soon as she put her head to her pillow, she was asleep.

The bunk room was dark and quiet when Minh was awakened. She thought something was not right. Groggy, she did not raise her head. Instead, she tried to figure out what had roused her from her slumber. Everything seemed normal, but she had a feeling in her gut.

She heard a muffled sound. It was accompanied by hoarse whispering, followed by a slap. The noises came from the wash room. Without thinking about it, she rolled off of her top bunk and landed lightly on her feet. Carefully, she approached the door to the wash room and peered into the brightly lit room. Her eyes watered with pain as she forced them to adjust to the lightness.

There were three men holding the sentry down on the tiled floor. It was Erin, an astech who had shown an aptitude for self defense under Minh's tutelage. One man was holding her jaw closed, which muffled Erin's protests. She had been disarmed and one of the men held her baton. She kicked out, trying to free herself from the second man holding her arms. The third man jabbed her in the stomach with the baton.

"That will teach you to fight back!" he hissed at her.

Minh charged in, having seen enough. From the side, a fourth man intercepted her. Instinctively, she ducked under his reach as she raced by him. It made sense, when Minh considered the matter afterwards. Someone had to be the lookout.

Minh did not know how long they had been roughing up Erin. Blood from her nose was smeared all over her lower face. The third man swung down at Minh with Erin's baton. She did not block the attack, but deflected it by letting it slide down her forearm. She turned, following after the stick. As she gripped it with her right hand, she jabbed backward with her left elbow. It was a risky maneuver, letting the man get behind her. However, surrounded by the four men, someone was going to be behind her. Taking a chance, she had chosen the man with the baton, seeking the disarm him. The man crumpled as his gut absorbed Minh's elbow and he lost his grip on the slender club.

The man holding Erin's arms rose to engage Minh, but she swung the baton wildly at him, making him stumble back and away from Erin. The man holding Erin's face dropped her head on the floor as he scooted away. She stood over Erin's motionless body, keeping the men at bay.

The men were shocked. Not only did they have the numerical advantage, but each one was larger than the little girl in her underwear. She had gone through them like a whirlwind.

"If you did not have that stick," one blustered.

"You had it before I did," Minh countered. "It took the four of you just to get it from her."

"What is going on in here?" Henna demanded as she stepped through the door. The men looked at each other, realizing that they could become trapped if enough women were attracted by the disruption. They pushed past the tech and fled the women's barracks.

Minh dropped to her knees next to Erin to check for signs of life. Erin was breathing, but she was unconscious.

"Help me pick her up," Minh set down the baton. "I have to get her to the infirmary."

"Can you carry her?" Henna asked as she joined the diminutive woman.

"If you can get her on my back, I can carry her," Minh said with certainty.

More women filtered into the wash room as Henna helped Minh with Erin. Minh squatted down with her back to the two women.

"Come here! Help us!" Henna commanded one of the women who had entered. They managed to get Erin on Minh in a fireman's carry. Minh wrapped her arms around an arm on one side and a leg on the other. Erin moaned as Minh stood up.

"Yes, you can hold on," Minh crooned encouragement to the wounded woman. "Someone get the doors for me, then go to the infirmary and make sure someone is there when I get there."

There was no thought in anyone's mind of questioning Minh's decisive tone. Instead, there was an ugly undercurrent of emotion running through the women. There was talk of visiting the men and returning the favor they had bestowed on Erin.

"I will call the infirmary," Henna said and Minh nodded. With that, she began walking quickly for the door. Around her she noted the angry women as they spoke to each other. They were demanding action.

"Is she going out dressed like that?" someone asked after Minh had left.

Things were happening too quickly for Henna to properly think at the moment. She had a call to make. As she went to her office to make it, she thought of the small woman. She had taken charge of matters once the men had run away. As she sat at her desk, she remembered Minh's slight figure as she took up the load. It was amazing that she could carry the other woman. Minh had reacted so quickly, there had been no time for her to dress. Henna sent someone after Minh with one of her jumpsuits.

Once Minh reached the bottom of the stairs outside of the barracks, she kept pace to the steady cadence in her head. Erin made little complaining sounds with every footstep.

"I am sorry," Minh said. "We will stop soon."

She had been aware of the footsteps behind her ever since she descended the stairs. Rather than waste time turning and looking, she concentrated on the task at hand. Erin was heavier than she looked. Her strength, born of the adrenalin from her fight, began to flag as she reached the infirmary.

The infirmary was a medium sized building, larger than the dining facility but smaller than the barracks. Half of the building was devoted to providing medical service. The other half was living quarters for the medical staff.

As Minh approached the building, the door opened and a med tech peered out as if on look out. She turned her head and said something to someone inside the doorway, then held the door open for Minh.

"We are here," Minh assured Erin in a breathless whisper.

"Over here," the med tech directed Minh to a chair just inside the door. Minh turned and let the med tech guide Erin down from her back. Muscles shaking, she sank to the floor. Braced with her hands in her knees, she hung her head down.

"Get out of the way!"

"Xin loi," Minh said apologetically as she scooted herself across the floor. She looked up and anxiously watched the med tech tend to the semi-conscious Erin. The woman did not appear to have traveled well at all. In addition to the blood on her face and jumpsuit, her nose did not look straight.

"Are you all right?"

Minh craned her head around and saw Katya. She also saw Fal, who was standing to the side of the doorway. She held a small bundle of clothing in her arms.

"I am just tired," Minh answered.

"She carried Erin all the way here," Fal declared with amazement. "As small as she is, I don't know where she keeps her muscles."

Minh was weary of the constant references to her small size. Also, she was not particularly fond of Fal. She was a hothead.

"Couldn't you have dressed first?" Katya asked, noting that Fal had a point. The small woman was all but naked in her underwear. She had no real build of muscles. The way she sat on her feet, her skinny thighs barely seemed to gain width as they compressed against her calves.

"Erin is more important," Minh said.

"Oh, here," Fal tossed the bundled coveralls to Minh. From her lackluster catch, it was obvious that she had been worn out carrying Erin all the way from the barracks.

"What happened?" Katya asked.

"Minh-," Erin murmered slowly.

"They attack in packs," the med tech misunderstood what the unjured woman said, believing she was pronouncing the word 'men'.

"You did that?" Katya demanded of Minh.

The med tech looked over at them. Her eyes narrowed as she quickly understood Katya's accusation. She sent Katya away for disinfectant, swabs, and gauze.

"As for you," the med tech said to Minh, "get dressed and do not go anywhere. You just borrowed yourself a heap of trouble."

"No, not her," Erin insisted weakly.

Minh was reminded of an incident just like this one. She had been accosted in her bunk by a strange man. She would have been killed save for the timely intervention by Keen. He had brought her to sick bay and Doc had assumed that it had been Keen who had injured her. He had been innocent, just as Minh was now.

No, not completely innocent. If Minh had been a better instructor, perhaps Erin would have been able to alert the barracks to her attack. After all, there had been only four men. She should have been able to at least call for assistance.

"Men attacked me," Erin said. "Not Minh."

"She is delusional," the tech said to Katya upon her return. "Men. Not men."

"No, no, no," Erin insisted. "Some guys jumped me, not her."

"Calm down," the tech said. "I cannot do my job if you are excited."

"Minh wasted those guys," Fal chimed in. "At least six of them."

"Minh?" Katya looked down at the Asian woman. She still sat on the floor, making no move to dress but clutched her jumpsuit to her chest as she watched the med tech clean Erin's face.

"There were only four," Minh did not take her eyes from Erin. "They were holding her down. She must have thought she could deal with them. They were angry with her because she had dared to defend herself."

"What were they doing in there?" Katya asked.

"The animals fancy themselves warriors," Fal said. "They test our watch standers all the time, calling it security readiness. Stinking bullies."

"Bullies are cowards," Minh declared tonelessly. "They prey on those who cannot defend themselves." Taking a deep breath, she stood up and pulled her jumpsuit on.

"Will Erin be okay?" Fal asked.

"The doctor will have to reset her nose," the med tech replied. "She is favoring her chest, so we have to watch for internal damage. Using the fireman's carry may have aggravated her condition. You should have used a stretcher or called for transportation."

As Minh listened to the description of injuries, Katya noticed a distant look appear in her dark almond eyes. With her facial features blank, it made an eerie expression. No, not eerie, but frightening. It was as if she had made up her mind to take action and that she was resigned to it.

Then those eyes were directed at Katya, eyes that at one time had seemed friendly. Now they were bottomless pools. Something was in there, hidden in the depths, but Katya could not see it.

"Don't do anything hasty," Katya urged, the worry naked in her tone.

"I need to talk to Nagatake," Minh replied. "He should be coming down from the ship soon. Can you find him for me?"

"Okay," Katya nodded her head. "I will be meeting the DropShip anyway. When I see him, I will tell him you are looking for him."

"Katya, get the gurney," the med tech ordered. "You other two, there is nothing more you can do here tonight. Go back to bed."

Minh nodded and turned to leave, Fal close behind her.

"You will wait for Nagatake before you do anything?" Katya begged the question.

Minh nodded again. Katya almost sighed with relief. She did not know what the small woman had planned. The fact that she wanted to see Nagatake first gave the novice medical technician hope that she would not do anything rash. At least, not until Nagatake had talked to her. She was sure Nagatake could talk sense to her.

"Why didn't you just tell that bondswoman what to do?" the med tech asked Katya after Minh had left. "You have the authority of a tech."

"She would not have listened to her," another voice piped up. The two women faced the speaker.

"Good morning, Doc," the med tech greeted him. "You did not have to get up."

"I heard the activity and thought I would peek in," Doc replied. Indeed, he had heard everything. He had remained out of sight, letting Katya speak to Minh. The two women had a rapport. Doc did not want to force Minh into an ill-considered action by crystallizing her resistance. Any opposition could drive her into an act of defiance. In addition to that, she had a habit of doing what she wanted. He did not know if it was due to a lack of comprehension. She did not completely understand the English language. When he first met her, he expressed an offer of help. He had told her that 'all she had to do was ask'. Instead, she helped herself without asking. It had been a misunderstanding. He wanted to avoid further confusion. That was why he waited for her to leave before making his presence known.

When Minh and Fal returned to the barracks, they discovered that Henna had revised the sentry watches. Two women would now be on watch at a time. Since there was only one duty belt and baton available, only one of them was armed.

Angry and upset, many of the women were still awake. Disorganized for the moment, it was only a matter of time before they wound themselves up into riotous behavior. They wanted to take the fight to the men. Henna was doing her best, going to each knot of women and trying to talk sense to them.

Henna saw Minh and recognized her dangerous mien. There was not any one thing in her expression. Her dark eyes were not as wary as usual. There was an aggressive gleam, almost as if in eagerness for confrontation. Her round face looked lean, like a feral wolf.

If she cuts loose, there is no way I can stop her, Henna thought with dismay. There had been an incident a few minutes previously. The women attacked the rover when he came by on his appointed rounds. The rover tried to reason, explaining that he had nothing to do with the attacks. It was to no avail against the open hostility. Henna had to save him, placing herself bodily between the women and the man. The rovers would probably stop coming to the women's barrack for the rest of the night.

Henna had tried to report the incident against Erin, but to no avail. The senior tech of the barracks had refused to give credence to what he called 'women's hysterics'.

"Tell that to Erin," Henna countered.

The women rallied around Minh, demanding that she join them against the rest of the barracks. Henna intended to throw her voice against the rising frenzy. The look of surprise on Minh's face gave her pause. Minh raised her hands, gaining silence from the women clamoring for action.

"We are not ready," she said clearly.

Some of the women protested Minh's caution.

"Erin was not ready," Minh continued. "She was good."

"We do not have to be good, just mean!" someone insisted.

"Those men who hurt Erin were mean," Minh stated.

"But they outnumbered Erin," came the argument. "We can outnumber them!"

"Do you think they will let you gang up on them?" Henna demanded. "There are three men in this building for every one of us here."

"So what do we do about it? Do we let them get away with what they are doing?"

"Neg," Minh said in a quiet tone, her face thoughtful.

Henna did not know what to think about Minh's reaction. She did not understand the small woman enough to guess what she would do. It was obvious she was planning something and she did not like the implications.

"How is Erin?" she asked, hoping to divert attention from the growing dilemma.

"They hurt her bad," Fal announced in a heated voice. She repeated what she had heard at the infirmary. Henna regretted asking as she heard the murmuring from the angry women.

"Let us go now!"

"Make the scum pay!"

The women began to surge, heading for the exits at each end of the sleeping bay of the barracks.

"Stop!"

It was not the word that caused the riotous women to pause, but the tone of command that enunciated it. They turned back to the woman who had barked it out.

Minh stood with her hands raised over her head, her arms angled out to gather their attention. As she turned to make sure all of the women were listening, she lowered her hands and clasped them behind her.

"Now is not the time," she said carefully. "If we move now, we will lose."

"Who put the bondswoman in charge?" someone demanded.

"You are an unorganized mob," Minh explained. "You can attack now, but you are not ready. If you go now, you will lose and nothing will have been gained. Things will become worse."

"We have got nothing to lose now," Fal spouted back.

"We have time," Minh said. "We should not waste it in haste."

"Haste is waste," someone chanted. Someone else told that person to shut up.

"If you are so smart, little girl, then you lead!"

The challenge seemed to catch Minh by surprise. She recovered quickly.

"Aff, I will lead."

This led to another round of shouting. There was disagreement about whether the mob wanted to be led.

"At least she knows how to fight!" Fal piped up over the din. "She has been teaching us."

"She taught Erin," someone pointed out accusingly. That comment served to reinforce Minh's sense of blame.

"Minh," Henna motioned for Minh to join her in her office. Closing the door behind them, she raised her concern. "You cannot lead them into riotous behavior."

"If I do not take the lead, someone else could lead them into doing something wreckful," Minh said.

"'Wreckful'?" Henna repeated.

"Wrecking, wreck, something," Minh seemed momentarily exasperated by her failure in speech. Shrugging aside the distraction with a rapid wave of her hand, she quickly made her point. "Never mind that. They need someone to direct them, to provide guidance."

"They do not need to be guided into wrongdoing," Henna argued. "We do not need more trouble."

"Oppose them now and they will do what they want anyway," Minh said. "At least this way they get time to calm down. Some of them will change their minds and do nothing. Some of them have never participated in self defense class anyway. The rest will get time for training."

"They have not yet decided to take you as their leader," Henna said. "What will happen if they choose their own way?"

"I am prepared to stop them myself," Minh declared quietly.

"You," Henna stated doubtfully.

"I am a better fighter than an instructor," Minh said. "What is happening now is my fault. If I had been a good teacher, Erin would have been properly prepared. It is because she lost tonight that these women are getting ready to riot."

"It is more to it than that," Henna said, silently conceding to the young woman's rationality.

"I do not want anyone else to get hurt," Minh avowed.

"I will hold you to that," Henna said. "You will be responsible."

"Aff," Minh nodded seriously. She noticed how life in the clan was like her former Combine society. There was the constant demand for individuals to exercise responsibility. Was there just similarity or was she becoming Clan like?

"Do you have a plan?"

"I have sent for help," Minh explained.

"That was fast," Henna commented. "When did you find the time?"

"I have a friend in the infirmary," Minh admitted. "She will contact a man who helped instruct me. He can succeed where I failed Erin."

"It is good that you are concerned about your students, but do not become obsessive," Henna told Minh. "Every teacher must learn to let go."

"I cannot leave my job half finished," Minh said. "The men will be back. They will want revenge."

"What about you? Do you want revenge?" Henna asked.

Minh did not answer. Her closed expression revealed nothing.

"Do not do anything reckless," Henna continued. So intent on trying to influence Minh, she did not see the younger woman look at her in surprise, silently mouthing the word 'reckless'.

_That is the word! Reckless, not wreckful!_ Minh thought.

Having said what she wanted, Henna led Minh from her room. Waiting outside of the door were the women. Apparently the women had come to an agreement in their absence. They stood in a group, Fal in front. She did the speaking for them, something that disturbed Henna.

"Minh, we will follow you," she announced. "But only with provisions."

"Provisions? You want to be fed?" Minh sounded incredulous. The women laughed at her obvious confusion.

"We want to know what you will do," Fal explained. "We are tired of being used. For once, we want to be in control."

As Minh listened, she felt anger well up. It was not directed at these women, but at the warrior caste. They had taken these women and effectively imprisoned them in a miserable situation. Subjected to abuse, they had no place to turn for help. The warriors did not care, not with their mindset of survival of the strongest. What they needed was a defender, a champion.

Fal fell silent and the the group of women looked on, awaiting Minh's response. Minh looked back, her mind turning over the thoughts once more. Before she spoke, she had to be sure she was correct. These women expected a competent leader. That was what Minh had promised.

There was a sense of injustice, holding these women captive in such cruel conditions. She understood that this was not what the warrior caste intended. The women were at the mercy of others and the warriors did nothing to take responsibility. Her own bondholder cared about her welfare. Perhaps he cared more than was normal. Minh could witness what was happening to these women. She was in a position to get involved, to make a positive difference. It was not revenge to accept that responsibility. But was that true. After all, she was looking forward to doing it. That was not revenge, was it?

A champion. Minh would be their champion. An idea began to form as Fal began to look impatient. A challenge of champions. It would be a compromise of Minh's idea with Henna's commentary.

"We need to form teams," Minh filled the silence of the barracks. "But before we do that, we must train ourselves for the task. There can be no mistakes. You must be committed to the cause. If any of you have second thoughts, then decide now. No one will think any less of you. When we make our move, that would be a bad time to back out. Our efforts will be for nothing if one team fails."

"When will we move?" Fal asked.

"I am waiting for another instructor," Minh answered. "He will be coming down with the next DropShip."

"A man! We do not need him," someone called out from the back of the group. "What do we need him for?"

"Men are causing us trouble," Minh said. "A man should help us solve it."

"I guess so," Fal sounded hesitant.

Henna retired for the rest of the early morning, shutting herself into her room. As she lay down, she was momentarily relieved that the women would not riot. At least, not yet. In the morning, she would contact Batiste. When he had brought Minh to live in the barracks, he had been clear that he wanted to be informed of any problems involving the bondswoman. She was certain that Minh's activities qualified as a problem. She did not want trouble with the warriors. After all, there was very little supervision over her when it came to her duties in the barracks. It was an easy billet and she did not want that to change.

On her morning watch, Minh discovered that she had been teamed with Fal. On the other watches, a senior woman stood watch with a junior one. However, Minh and Fal were both bondswomen. It was either a show of confidence for Minh's abilities on Henna's part or a statement that Fal had been in the barracks longer than Minh, making her senior.

Is this what I should be doing? Minh wondered doubtfully. She found it easy to forget that she was a captive militia member. Would another captive from the Draconis Combine allow anything to take the place of the primary duty of escape? Minh did not know. She had obligated herself to this task at hand. Escape was impossible anyway. She was on an enemy planet. Until she could get more information to make escape plausible, she would have to bide her time. In the meantime, she could occupy herself with what was happening in the barracks. She would finish it before doing anything else. After all, having obligated herself, she was honor bound to resolve the situation.

Minh visited Erin in the morning after her breakfast, which was still early. Erin's nose was bandaged and she appeared to be asleep.

"You are not supposed to be here," a med tech said quietly, rising from a desk. There was no sign of Katya or the other med tech. "We just put her to bed."

"I am checking on my friend," Minh responded in a low voice.

Erin opened her eyes.

"Minh," she said. Her eyes were unfocused as she turned her head listlessly toward her visitor. She was still under the influence of pain-numbing medication.

"How do you feel?" Minh asked as she leaned against the bed. In her mind, it was an obvious question, but she could not think of anything else to ask in greeting.

"My chest is heavy. I breathe funny," Erin said slowly. "Thank you for what you did."

"I was too late," Minh waved the thanks away with her hand.

"Thank you for that, too," Erin said. "What I meant to say is thank you for teaching me to defend myself. If you had not done that, I probably would have given up without a fight. I would not have tried to defend myself. I tried. I can respect myself for that."

Minh did not know how to respond. It seemed to be bad manners to accept thanks. In this case, a thank you was misplaced. She wanted to apologize.

"I know what I did wrong," Erin continued. "I see what you meant now. The pattern."

"Pattern," Minh repeated.

"I dealt with them as individuals, one on one," Erin stated. "I did not see them as a group. I knew why they had come and that they did not belong there, but I let them attack first. I let them take the initiative from me. Then I saw you go through them. Only one of them attacked you and you bypassed him. You pressed your advantage and won."

"Anyone can do that," Minh said, uneasy with the praise. "With the proper mind set and practice, you will do it."

The med tech listened to the small woman speak. She had been against letting her visit the injured woman, but she had changed her mind. The small woman spoke in a compassionate tone, but there was no pity in her manner. Her words fed the injured woman's self respect and dignity.

xxXxxxXxx

At the firing range, Minh fired a variety of weapons with Wendal at her side. When asked, she admitted that she had little previous experience with the pistol and rifle. That was not far from the truth. In the militia, she had gone through familiarization with a pistol for watch standing qualification. That meant that she fired ten rounds. The first five were at her own pace. The last five were timed. She had no more than twenty seconds to shoot. That averaged to four seconds to aim and fire each shot. Her first group of shots were much more accurate than her second.

It was with the rifle that she had demonstrated her competence which led to her assignment in her tank. Fast or slow, she maintained tight groupings on the paper target at a variety of distances.

When she first fired for Wendal, he had given her a semiautomatic pistol. He knelt on one knee behind her and to the side while she stood facing the target. At first, Minh assumed that he had poised himself there to keep her from turning the weapon against them. It was later that she found out that it was Anton who was keeping an eye on her. As range officer, he was armed with a pistol. Given his direct personality, there was no doubt in Minh's mind that he would shoot her if she gave him reason. Knowing he was behind her with a handgun sent a crawling sensation up her spine. As for Wendal, he served as her shooting coach. Having someone looking over her shoulder would normally make Minh self conscious. He was much closer to her than she normally permitted anyone. However, as long as Wendal's bulk served as a barrier between her and Anton, she would accept the invasion of her personal space.

The target was a hologram. Sensors recorded where the bullets flew through the target. A display at the firing line revealed the accuracy of Minh's shooting. Minh was fascinated to observe that the display could recall previous firing sessions. Each session could be color coded and shown at the same time for comparison. Her marksmanship with the pistol was so-so. She was better with the rifle.

Minh shot well but Wendal thought she could do better. He corrected her posture and technique. During pistol fire, he made her keep both eyes open. It did not make sense to Minh, but she obeyed. She concentrated on her shooting eye to maintain her sight picture. She really did not notice a difference, but Wendal was satisfied with the result. After his instruction with the rifle, she felt uncomfortable shooting it. Her arm felt stretched when she gripped the forestock. It was also a distraction for her to maintain her trigger hand's elbow at the proper angle. The only thing that made sense to her was keeping her cheek firmly against the side of the butt stock as she aimed the rifle.

"You shot better here than when you faced Salen," Keller observed as Wendal brought up the target record on the shooting range display.

"The targets here do not shoot back," Minh responded. She recalled her very first meeting with Salen. It happened just before Minh had been captured by Keen. Of course, the meeting was not face to face. Minh was in her tank and Salen was attacking in her Warhammer-like OmniMech. She remembered the stress of combat, frantically loading the gauss rifle while Brenner drove the tank to a new firing position. Both the tank and Omni took damage from the other, each trying to shoot the other before the opponent shot back. Here at the shooting range, Minh could focus on her accuracy without fear of becoming a target herself. Thinking on her answer to Keller, it sounded like an excuse. She did not like to make excuses. Excuses were made by unqualified people who sought to conceal their own lack of skill.

"We can fix that," Wendal touched the display screen. The target became a silhouette. "Okay, assume the prone position."

Minh followed his direction and sighted down her weapon. As she brought the rifle barrel in line with the silhouette, she could see the target become a rifleman. Surprised, she watched as the target aimed back at her. She saw a flash and heard the report from the target's rifle. A dark blur buzzed at her head, coming from just in front of her firing position. She flinched involuntarily a moment before something bounced off of her forehead.

Minh lowered the rifle and rose up to her hands and knees. Finding what she was looking for, she picked up a light weight ball. It was a little bit larger than the width of her thumb. It was medium gray in color. She was surprised that it was not as dark as she had initially assumed.

"The launcher is two meters in front of you," Wendal pointed at the brush and scrub growth on the ground. Minh could make out a slender barrel pointing at her. "When you are in firing position, the target becomes active. When it shoots, the launcher fires as well. The object is to shoot before the target does."

Minh heard his comment with only half an ear. Keller's comment about her shooting against Salen awoke a memory the battle. The fight had almost been an even match. Salen's last shot at Minh's tank had killed her driver, Brenner. Minh had all but disabled Salen's ability to maneuver. Had Keen not intervened and captured Minh, there was no doubt that Salen would have killed Minh before she could manually reload her gauss rifle.

xxXxxxXxx

Returning from the firing range, Minh walked with the Elementals. The rifle was slung over her shoulder by the sling. The strap kept slipping off her shoulder and she had to contantly replace it. The pistol belt hung across her chest from her other shoulder to her hip, too large for her to wear around her waist. She felt like a bandit. Wendal and Keller carried unfired ammunition in shoulder bags. Batiste had the fired brass, the expended casings, in his bag. As range master, Anton carried nothing, save the pistol holstered on his belt.

Minh understood why she was encumbered by the pistol and heavy rifle. A warrior was expected to carry any man portable weapon in use. Minh was only a bondswoman, but if she was going to fire these arms, then she had better be able to carry them. Instead of a feeling of pride that she was entrusted to carry the weapons, she had that uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. As they approached the armory, Minh observed someone sitting in the shade of the building just outside the door.

_That looks like Salen_, Minh thought. It was surprising to her that she would see the MechWarrior so soon after having thought about her.

"Where is Don?" Batiste asked her in greeting.

"He will not let me in," Salen said as she stood up.

"Smart boy," Keller said in hype.

Salen ignored his jibe. Instead she examined the small, dark-eyed Minh. Unaccountably, Minh could not look back at her. She wanted to offer a friendly greeting, but felt a disabling shyness. The last time they had seen each other was on the JumpShip just prior to coming down to the planet Strana Mechty.

"Do they let you shoot as well as pack their weapons around?" Salen addressed her.

"She is an okay shot," Batiste declared, answering for Minh. That was a bit of an overstatement. Her shooting average fell as a result of taking fire from the target. She rushed as a result of stress, not firing as proficiently as she could. When she tried to relax and take her time, the target fired first and points were deducted from her score. Simultaneous shots were ignored, no deductions nor additions were made to Minh's score.

"I thought you would be out to prove your skill in your OmniMech," Keller's remark seemed to have a point to it.

The warriors were speaking over Minh's head. For once, she was appreciative. She did not have to consider a response. It gave her a chance to adjust to Salen's return.

"The bearing in the knee actuator has a burr or something. The entire assembly is being replaced," Salen explained. Minh was surprised at that. On her tank, malfunctioning parts were not replaced but reconditioned. There was no such thing as spare parts for militia equipment. It was unheard of, unthinkable even, on a backwater planet like Minh's. "My help is not desired so I am here."

Salen was obviously unhappy with the damage to her Omni. Minh felt guilty, but she would not have done anything different. Given another opportunity, she would do it again, but the thought of potentially killing Salen was disturbing. She remembered how Salen had remained at her side when she underwent anesthesia for a hyper jump. Before that, Salen had been at her side immediately after her suicide attempt. Those were actions of a friend. She decided that she would not want to face Salen in combat again.

"Once they are through putting my Omni back together, I will begin my requalification," Salen spat out that last word contemptuously. "There is no reason for me to requalify! We won the battle!"

"We used too many of our assets against our opponents," Batiste said. From the manner of his speech, it was a rehash of an old argument. "The trinary took too much damage for the level of threat we faced."

Always active, Minh's mind considered the term 'Omni'. She had heard the term before. Why OmniMech? All she knew was that it was a type of BattleMech. Although trained in BattleMech recognition, all of the 'Mechs she had seen on that fateful day of battle were unfamiliar. Granted, there was a vast variety of war machines, but she should have seen something she could positively identify. Salen's machine posed a semblance to one she had been shown in training, but it was not a close match.

"You guys took no damage, yet you must requalify also," Salen said.

"Guilt by association," Batiste said. "Even the AeroSpace pilots must do this."

"There was no AeroSpace nor air element facing us, yet they are blamed also," Salen exclaimed in exasperation.

"They could have been used against units on the ground," Batiste said.

"That is inconsistent! First we are blamed for wasting our resources, then blamed again for conserving our resources," Salen growled. "Bad weather prohibited AeroSpace use."

"They claim that is a really lame excuse," Keller declared. "The fighter pilots could have been kept on standby in case the weather cleared up. Instead, Ch'in was on the ground 'sightseeing' instead of being on duty with his fighter."

"That was a senseless mission anyway," Salen continued her condemnation of the subject, the mission that had led to the capture of Minh. Minh silently agreed to the senselessness. If there had been no mission, her comrades would still be alive now. That was probably the reason that Minh felt ambivalent about seeing Salen again.

Listening to Salen's arrogant outrage, Minh did not feel sympathy. To her surprise, she felt mollified. Her militia company had been able to adversely effect their killers after all.

"We are accused of becoming stagnant, that we need new blood in the trinary." She looked at Minh. "You do not have to worry about that." She changed the subject. "Keen has been training for his trial, quaff?"

Minh's wandering mind picked up on the reference to Keen. She had been hearing about his having a trial.

_Was he in trouble? How does one train for a judicial court?_ Somehow Minh felt that she had the wrong idea. After the time spent with the clan, she knew that nothing was as it seemed.

She also puzzled over the comment of new blood. Why were they training her? She was only a bondswoman. Despite the approval they seemed to have bestowed upon her, they had made it clear she would be nothing more than a bonded servant.

In the meantime, Batiste had pounded on the armory door and Don gave them admittance. Don avoided looking at Salen's withering glare as he stood aside for the trooping Elementals.

Without being instructed, Minh drew back the bolt on the rifle and placed it on the work bench. Pulling off the pistol belt, she drew the hand gun and began to disassemble it.

Salen watched Minh as she continued to speak to Batiste.

"Do you have anything planned for Minh this afternoon?" she asked.

"We always have plans for Minh," Keller declared.

"Hand-to-hand drill today," Batiste said carefully. "You look like you could use the time with us."

Salen looked back at the Elemental, wondering if there was implied insult. Having trained with the Elementals on the JumpShip, she knew the offer was valid, insult or not.

"I have no intention of being slammed to the ground today," she said after a moment.

"By the way you are talking, you make getting slammed sound like a choice," Keller commented.

"Actually, I wanted to borrow Minh," Salen said, ignoring Keller.

Listening to the conversation, Minh was startled by the statement. Her hand shook and a spring shot out of the weapon she was disassembling. It ricocheted off of the wall toward the back of the room.

"Minh, what was that?" Anton asked in a deceptively mild tone.

"Recoil spring," Minh set the parts of the pistol onto the bench. "I think I know where it went." As she scampered after the errant part, Salen noted that the small woman was embarrassed.

Batiste looked from the bondswoman to the MechWarrior. As Minh returned with the spring in hand, Anton waved her over to him. She handed the spring to him and he examined it critically.

"It looks okay, but I will check it again when you have cleaned it," he said as he handed it back.

"Aff, Anton," Minh resumed her place at the bench.

"She is nervous," Batiste remarked in a low voice, as if he were speaking to himself. He looked at Salen and nodded. "Once she is through cleaning the weapons, you can take her."

The Elementals made to leave the armory.

"Don, go eat," Batiste ordered. "It will be a while before Minh is finished."

"Just leave them here alone?" Don asked.

"Them?" Salen repeated. Don paled as he realized that the MechWarrior had taken being lumped together with a bondswoman as an insult.

"They are not Elementals," Don stammered. "Security is my responsibility as armory tech."

"For a second there, I thought you had gotten a spine," Keller commented.

Minh felt the cruelty of that remark. The Elementals rarely treated the tech with dignity and respect. In her own humble opinion, he was merely competent in his displayed abilities, compared to the armory tech she had known in her militia company. She was careful not admit it out loud. The pistol before her seemed to disappear as she looked back in time. She had an image of the man, remembering his expertise as he taught marksmanship on the militia firing range. His expert ability had not saved his life as she recalled another image of him, one of many of the dead lying in a row in the rain after the battle.

After the massacre, she corrected herself mentally.

"Security is the responsibility of warriors," Batiste declared. "Salen is not an Elemental, but she is a warrior trusted by our point."

"Aff, Batiste," Don said carefully.

"Questioning the trustworthiness of a warrior is not prudent," Batiste continued.

"Especially this warrior," Salen interjected hotly. She saw Minh shake her head. The young woman had taken the pistol completely apart. Her face flushed, she merely stared at the work bench.

_She must still be embarrassed about losing the recoil spring_, Salen thought.

"Your devotion to duty is commendable, but in this case you need not concern yourself with these two," Batiste finished.

To Minh, the altruistic comment made by Batiste sounded like a face saving comment to the weapons tech. Don seemed to be a decent enough person, but she suspected that he was too high strung for the warrior environment. These warriors did not respect him because of that weakness. She wondered how a man like him had come to work for the Elementals in the first place. That brought her back to the mystery of where she had seen the tech before. His face was familiar to her, if only she could remember where. She could almost imagine where it was and her inability to completely realize the memory bothered her.

The field stripped weapons in front of her reminded her of her own journey. The smell of the burnt powder residue stirred her memory of her own capture. Tanks burning in the rain. The popping sounds of detonating machinegun ammunition. Giant metal soldiers looming over her. Salen blurting disparaging remarks at Minh.

Salen was looking at her now. She did not have to turn her head to look back to realize that. Feeling introspective, she allowed herself to become immersed in her thoughts as she set to work once more. She barely heard the men depart for lunch.

Starting with the pistol, Minh cleaned the weapons. Removing each part from the assembly, she left each piece on a clean rag. Once she had the weapon taken apart, she turned her attention to the receiver subassembly. Using the sharp point of a scribing tool, she delicately picked unburnt powder grains from the cracks and crannies of the firing mechanism. After wiping at every surface she could get to, she set down the receiver and picked another piece to cleanse. After each part was wiped clean, she rubbed a dry bore patch over it. She would then examine the small cloth for powder residue. When there was none, she would begin the process all over again on another part. She was surprised when Salen picked up the cup-shaped spring retainer from the pistol. She had not noticed the other woman's approach.

Minh stood silently as Salen examined her work.

"This part is notorious for collecting powder fouling," she commented. "Good work." When she replaced the retainer on the rag, Minh wiped away Salen's finger prints. She glanced at Salen and saw her indignant expression.

"Anton is very strict regarding firearms," Minh explained as she concentrated on the task at hand. "I cannot put the weapons together. When he comes back, he will want to inspect them for wear and damage." She gestured at the pieces arranged neatly on the counter.

As if a dam had broken, she went on to explain that each Elemental had apparently been tasked with supervising her in different areas. Wendal was her shooting coach. Keller pushed her limits in physical fitness. Anton critically inspected the work she performed for the Elementals, not only in cleaning weapons.

"Batiste taught me to swim. I think I like it," she finished.

"Keen?" Salen prompted when Minh fell silent.

"Keen is busy," Minh looked wistful but the relief was obvious in her voice. She appeared reluctant to discuss the Elemental point commander. Minh had witnessed Keen's tenderness only once, but in the presence of others, he remained stoic.

Salen was pleased that she had decided to look Minh up. The little woman was just the diversion to take her mind off of her own problems. Since there was very little she could do at the moment anyway, she may as well be doing something else. She was curious about what Minh was doing.

"Aff, Keen is busy," Salen agreed. "He has much to lose if he fails his trial." While Minh listened to Salen speak of Keen, her dark eyes lost focus. However, her hands instinctively continued their mechanical motion. She wiped the burnt powder stains from the parts with deliberate movements.

She dreaded the confusion she felt at the mention of Keen. For weeks on the ship she had been uncertain of his real feelings about her. It had been early morning in his quarters when he affirmed his affection for her. It had raised fear, not from his attentions, but fear of her own feelings. The uncertainty she now felt stemmed from the impropriety of her feelings for an enemy officer.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh walked beside Salen through an unfamiliar area of the base. They approached a gate guarded by two sentries. There was a drive-through and access for pedestrians. A sign mounted on the sentry shelter between the gates warned drivers of ground vehicles to stop and yield both lanes of drive-through for BattleMechs. Minh felt that the warning was unnecessary. No driver could hope to survive such a collision.

The two women were passed through the gate after a cursory examination. The sentry nodded to Salen after eyeing Minh's bond cord. There was no condescension in his manner.

Minh did not know where Salen intended to take her, but she felt a sense of exhilaration. The barrier was clearly a demarcation line separating the military reservation from that which was possibly a civilian town. There was an open area on both sides of the fence. The buildings outside of the base were not as sturdy as the buildings on base. They were also closer together. The main thoroughfare from the base followed the outskirts of the town.

Reaching the town, the women turned onto a narrow access. Minh noted that the buildings were too close together to permit large vehicles room to drive between them. Only small vehicles could negotiate the brick lined streets. There were no designated pedestrian walkways. Any vehicles that appeared on the street would have to share it with the people on foot. The townspeople were very different from those Minh had been living among. Young boys and girls played in small groups. Older youths performed errands for adults. There were elder citizens tending shops and the like. Of course, there were individuals of all ages in between. These were not warriors, not techs, and not bonded. They were civilians, ordinary people. Like those in her own society, it was apparent that these people reflected due deference to the warrior caste. In their regard to Salen, there was no fear, but there was respect. In turn, Salen was not arrogant or disrespectful among them. That surprised Minh because Salen could be very domineering over those she called 'freeborn'. She had actually stated that their purpose was to serve trueborn warriors such as herself. In this town, she acted with a sense of place, that she belonged here, but not in a manner that suggested she owned them. The people looked curiously at Minh, but not unkindly. It was her short stature, not her cultural heritage that drew their attention. She could see a few Asiatic individuals, so it was not her appearance that turned their eyes. At first glance she could be confused for one of the young people, but the bond cord she wore established her maturity. The Wolf Clan did not take children into bond.

Minh took note of the variety of shops that lined the streets they walked through. It was obvious that they provided service industries to the base. There were leather working venders, clothiers, markets, as well as an apparel cleaner. Intermixed among them were restaurants and bars.

She also observed that the warren of streets ran perpendicular to the natural terrain. Ahead she could hear the engines of large vehicles. Since the street was curved, her sight was blocked from seeing them. It was obvious that there was a part of town that allowed access for larger vehicles from the bypassing road to the base. Minh assumed that there were storehouses in that part of town. On side streets leading to residences, she could see the outskirts of the farside of town formed an abutment to a marsh.

The two women entered a small cafe. After seeing the strict and utilitarian lifestyle of the clan warrior caste, it came as a surprise to find an open and bright gathering place. Partitions had been removed from the front wall providing unrestricted access from the street to the half dozen tables within the eatery. A pair of tables were occupied by workmen taking their lunch. They barely glanced at the women as Salen chose a table by the wall. From where they sat, Minh noticed that Salen had a clear view along the length of the street. It seemed a prudent yet paranoid action to Minh, something that Minh felt she would do herself.

In the still air of the semi-shelter, Minh could smell the cleaner and preservative on herself. She had wiped her hands with a rag back at the armory, but that had not been sufficient. She was unable to clean away all of the residue without the help of soap and water.

"I need to wash my hands," Minh announced quietly.

The middle aged woman who served the tables directed her to the wash room. While she was there, she noticed the back exit. Soaping up her hands, she considered how easy it would be to slip away from Salen. Once out the door, she could vanish in any direction, but she needed a plan. Where would she go? How would she escape? How would she hide? How could she equip herself before hand without someone discovering her intent? She must keep everyone from becoming suspicious. How would she get off the planet once she was away? Dropships were too well guarded. She would have to have assistance from someone on the base or the ship to smuggle herself on board. A difficult proposition since everyone was an enemy. She would have to find a way to bribe, intimidate, falsify credentials, or blend in.

Minh stared at herself in the mirror as she dried her hands. For months she had been unable to escape. She had long since rationalized that there had been no real harm in what she was doing with the Elementals. It was not like she had been given a real choice. These activities were not part of her original intentions a year before. Not exactly. But in a way, they were. As a woman she had been at the mercy of her culture and she did not want that anymore. She did not want to be at the mercy of anyone. Keen and the others had made that possible for her. Now she must take the next step in her journey of self. She needed to assert her duty to the Combine and be true to her heritage.

When Minh returned to the table, she saw two bottles of beer. She eyed them dubiously.

"You look better since I saw you last," Salen stated with approval as Minh sat down.

Overcome with shyness again, Minh looked down at the table. She remembered their last meeting. Nerves frazzled by jump sickness, she had been unable to contain her exploding anger. She was ashamed to be reminded of her loss of self control.

"A whole lot better," Salen emphasized. "I have never seen you looking so well."

Minh looked up at Salen's friendly tone.

"I feel healthy," Minh admitted.

The serving lady brought two plates and placed them before the women.

"I would like water," Minh said politely.

"What is wrong with the beer?" Salen demanded.

"It would not be proper for me to drink alcohol," Minh stated.

"Why?"

"Women do not drink."

"Why?"

At a loss for words, Minh could only look back at Salen. Her refusal was a result of her old cultural upbringing and she felt guilty for giving in to it. A woman did not partake in drinking if she cared to maintain a proper reputation. Even though her station in clan life was very low, she did have her standards.

The server returned and set a glass of water on the table. She tried to take the bottle away, but Salen took it instead.

"I will drink this," she said. "No need for it to go to waste."

As they ate, Minh tried to shift her mind to a subject that did not bother her. She pondered her amazement in seeing a civilian society. Upon reflection, it made sense. No war machine could exist without supply from technological and agricultural sources. She recalled an illustration using a spear. Civilian society was the shaft. The military was the spear head. The front line units made up the point and leading edges. Without the shaft, there was no spear. The spear head was just a sharp knife useful for only close range work. Without this civilian infrastructure, warriors would be just as ineffective.

As they finished eating, Salen tried to speak Vietnamese. Her pronunciation was dreadful. Minh choked on her drink of water and Salen scowled at her.

"Do not laugh," she said. "Your language is very difficult."

"Tieng Viet and Nihongo are very easy," Minh said. "It is English that is impossibly difficult."

"I do not believe you," Salen expressed.

"You have known English all your life," Minh explained. "I grew up speaking Vietnamese and Japanese. It is natural for us to believe our own languages are simple to understand. I had English as a foreign language for one year in school. I barely passed the class. I did not have to speak it again until I was in the militia."

"You sound very fluent," Salen said.

"That is because I try not to speak too slowly," Minh replied with a tone of denial. "I am always hearing words I do not understand."

Minh noticed a group of five warriors walking down the street. Clad in jumpsuits, each wore a helmet as well as a colorful brassard over one sleeve.

"Peacekeepers," Salen had observed Minh's attention. "They keep warriors out of trouble when they go out into the economy."

Minh assumed that peacekeepers were military police. Like the soldiers that had patrolled outside of her old militia training base back home. Drawn from the ranks of the serving military of the base, military police duty was not a permanent duty assignment.

As they came closer, she saw that four of them wore a stun stick on their duty belts. The fifth wore a holstered pistol. Minh assumed that the peacekeeper with the sidearm commanded the group.

As if answering Minh's unspoken thought, Salen explained that her MechWarrior status placed her in charge of such details when she had the duty. The other peacekeepers were infantry or unassigned 'Mech pilots.

"You are out early," the senior peacekeeper addressed Salen.

"My first time out since we came back," Salen shrugged.

"If my 'Mech were down, I would not be out until it was fully operational."

"My tech can be trusted to do his job," Salen replied to the implied criticism. "I do not need to stand over his shoulder."

"It is not like he was the one who damaged it in the first place," the peacekeeper was obviously trying to be derisive.

"Certainly not," Salen jerked her head at Minh. "She did it."

The peacekeeper shook her head as she walked away. The warriors under her command laughed with her as they left.

In the distance, Minh could hear women calling for their children. The streets were starting to fill with warriors. Mothers wanted their children home. The scene reminded Minh of her past.

After their lunch, the server brought a slip of paper to Salen, who signed her name to it. She tried to present a similar piece of paper to Minh, but Salen waved her hand in a 'come along' motion. She signed that one also.

"It is a voucher," Salen explained when she noticed Minh trying to read the paper. "The merchants here can redeem them at the base for remuneration."

"Money," Minh translated the last word out loud.

"Credit," Salen corrected in an insulted tone. To Minh, it meant much the same thing. Her father had done business with various merchants at home on credit.

The two wandered around for the next few hours and looked through the shops. Minh did not mind the attention she received from the vendors. Having not seen her before, they were curious about her. Kind and polite, they asked about her age and origin. A leather tanner gave her a short piece of braid as a welcome present to the planet. All he wanted in return was a favorable word about his place of business to anyone seeking leather goods. Minh promised to do her part.

"Since he saw you with me, he assumed that you spend a lot of time with other warriors," Salen told Minh as they left the shop. "Much of our ornamental dress is leather."

When Minh returned to the barracks that afternoon, Henna gave her a message from Katya. Nagatake would meet her at the infirmary the next day before supper.

xxXxxxXxx

As arranged, Nagatake waited for Minh at the infirmary. Since Erin was still being hospitalized, he had been given a firsthand account of what was happening at the barracks. From the manner in which he was told of the events, he could see that she admired Minh. Erin was exhibiting signs of hero worship. He also learned that Minh was checking on her on a daily basis. He speculated that Minh might be going to Erin to elevate her ego.

Katya had made her concern known as well. She was hoping that he could prevent Minh from causing trouble. As a result, Erin was afraid that he would stop Minh from taking corrective action. She had learned of Katya's experience of being beaten, that somehow Minh had discovered what had happened. She had wanted to search out the culprit, but had been prevented from doing so.

Another of Katya's complaints was that the Elementals had made the small woman entirely too martial. Nagatake knew that Minh had always had the capacity. His real concern was that she would use her improved ability for wrongdoing. He did not want to see her become a bully.

When Minh arrived, she went first to visit with Erin. The injured woman was no longer bedridden, but the med techs had yet to release her. During their interaction, Nagatake could see that Minh was uncomfortable with the favorable attention from Erin. Looking past the discomfort, he could discern an honest regard for the woman's welfare. It was a manner that was noticeably lacking in clan society.

Once she turned her attention to him, he could detect a new determination in her disposition. Her expression changed from kindness to seriousness as she quickly related her objective. In short, it sounded like she was leading an unarmed revolt. Nagatake delved for more information. What had Minh been teaching the women so far? How many of the women were participating? What was their goal? As she answered his questions, he could see her intensity. It was a quality he had noticed in competent leaders in the Combine armed forces. She knew she was in command. Nagatake saw Katya's concern about Minh's leadership ability. Like her, he was afraid she would get into trouble for usurping authority that she did not have as a bondswoman. He wanted to temper her attitude. When he first trained her in the militia, he had noticed her calmness under stress. Stability was a valuable commodity, very important when tactical situations deteriorated and unit cohesion was in danger.

That was an eventuality that he had experienced for himself the hard way. He had gone to rescue his own commander during a rout. During the battle, his leg was broken during a near miss. He ordered his men to continue the mission, fully expecting to be left behind for the dishonor of capture or worse. Instead, his commander rallied what forces remained and pulled out with the wounded as well as the fully combat ready.

Katya and Erin silently listened to the two friends speak rapidly. They could not understand the foreign language. Having heard Minh speak in careful cadence in English, it was different listening to her express herself quickly and easily.

Nagatake declared his intention to meet with the women. He was not going to become involved with them unless they wanted him to. At this point in the conversation, they noticed the attention from the two clan women. It was belatedly obvious that they had not understood a single word that was spoken.

"I have been rude," Minh addressed them apologetically. "I needed to tell him what we need. It is easier for me to do in Japanese."

Not accustomed to courteous treatment, the women did not know how to respond.

"Would you like it if Nagatake were to help us?" Minh asked Erin. Erin was silent at first as she looked at the man

"Is he as good as you are?" she asked.

"Nagatake is one of my instructors. He is the one who first taught me how to face more than one opponent," Minh assured her with quiet confidence. Nagatake caught the current tense of her statement.

"I think he is a kind man. Katya had been telling me about him," Erin said. "If you think we need his help, then I trust your judgment."

_She has no fear of men_, Minh decided. However, she was bothered by the comment about trusting her judgment. It added to her feelings of guilt. If things went badly, then it would be her fault. Having already taken responsibility, she had to make sure that nothing went wrong. She nodded to Erin.

"I will take him to meet the others," she said. "It will be supper soon. Hopefully they will be at the barracks now." With that, Minh departed with Nagatake.

Nagatake had been initially concerned that Minh had developed a sense of superiority and pride. He had revised his opinion about Minh when she gave a quiet sigh outside of the infirmary. Waving a hand back to the building they had left, she admitted that Erin reminded her of her own folly. She did not want any more people to get hurt, especially on account of her. The attack on Erin was the direct result of her own ability to defend herself. The men had obviously felt threatened by that and had retaliated. Now Minh wanted to finish it. She wanted to finally end the problem once and for all.

She saw Nagatake give her a measuring look.

"I want to teach those men a lesson," Minh declared, demonstrating a strong sense of justice.

"You seem to be taking a lot on yourself," Nagatake noticed. "Why haven't you gone to your Elemental friends?"

"This is a matter between techs and bondsmen and women," Minh said carefully. "I doubt the Elementals would concern themselves with what they would consider petty nonsense. The lower castes are beneath their notice."

"You seem to have their favor," Nagatake said. "Perhaps they would do something for you."

"They have been training me," Minh nodded. "But the Elementals are too aggressive. I do not want the men to fear Elemental intervention. I just want them to respect the women."

Nagatake saw that he had an opportunity to counter the Elemental influence in Minh. In helping her with this problem, he would be able imprint traditional Combine beliefs upon her. It occurred to him how it could be done. He would use the training opportunity in the women's barracks to accomplish it.

As they walked to the barracks, they returned to communication in Japanese. She explained how she had increased the intensity of training with the women in self defense. Nagatake was thankful for the switch in language. He was able to express the concepts easier. He spoke of the need for compassion for her enemies. This would be displayed by her chosen moderation in measured response. It was a sign of her responsibility as she sought justice. Minh must temper herself and her charges. She had a duty to them, to teach them correctly, to be a proper example. It was one thing to teach method, but there must be reason behind it. One must know when it was proper to take action and when to stay their hands.

"You are telling me not to do this," Minh said in a careful, neutral tone. The lack of emotion was alarming in itself.

"This must be done," Nagatake reassured her. "But a moderate response. Not all out rioting."

They took the stairs up to her floor. His time on the JumpShip had made him out of shape. Minh stepped lightly, hardly winded at all. Nagatake was conscious of his own deep breathing. Minh betrayed no sign of noticing.

"Man on the floor!" she yelled into the door. She looked inside the room, making sure that the women in her sight were dressed. Satisfied, she admitted Nagatake.

Having been briefed by Minh, the women had expected Nagatake to arrive sometime, but they appeared distrustful and sullen. Minh led him the length of the barracks room toward Henna's office. The women gathered in a loose circle around the pair. Nagatake took the reception in stride.

Minh immediately took charge of the meeting. She introduced Nagatake to the group at large, then explained what she had planned. It was all straight forward. Nagatake would be improving on the instruction that Minh had given them so far.

Nagatake waited for one of the women to voice her objection to him. He was not disappointed. One stepped forward and declared that they did not need his interference. From some of the agreeing comments, he learned that she was named Fal. He stepped toward her and asked her to strike at him. She refused, telling him that the attacker always lost. He nodded, recognizing that Minh had indeed taught these women. He declared his attention to strike at her instead. As he had intended with his warning, she was ready for his move. However, she was not prepared for his ability to slip out of her grip and reverse the hold against her instead.

"Nice trick," Fal said begrudgingly as Nagatake released her.

"No tricks, just technique," he corrected her. "No matter what you do, there will always be a counter move. That is why I am here. To help you prepare for any contingency."

Minh listened as Nagatake took over. He sounded just like one of her former high school professors. He kept the women's attention by demonstrating a variety of holds and throws with Minh's assistance. There were too many forms for the women to retain in the short time he spoke. Minh guessed that he was exhibiting his skill and expertise.

The end result was that the women agreed to attend classes with Nagatake. Before dinner each day was the best time for instruction, since the barracks rovers did not begin their rounds until after mealtime. Their activity would be kept away from potential prying eyes.

Every afternoon he instructed them in martial arts. To prevent information overload, he kept each lecture less than five minutes long. That was just enough to plant the seeds of knowledge he intended to impart. One of his concerns was that he did not want the Warrior Caste to perceive these women as a threat. Prisoners of war in the Draconis Combine were forbidden to engage in combat training. Granted, many of these women were not prisoners, but they were not warrior caste, neither. That the Elementals had chosen to train Minh to fight was their prerogative, but he doubted that they would condone what she was doing. They could easily view her activity as unarmed insurrection.

With that in mind, he decided to teach them the art of Aikido. Minh had already taught them how to attack. Her fear had been that she had been unable to teach them how to defend themselves. In her own case, Minh's attitude was more dominant than he had ever seen it. He did not want the women to develop the same aggressive tendencies. Any corrective action taken by the warriors could be excessively ruthless. After all, they took a narrow view of insolent behavior.

Nagatake was an alumnae of Galedon Military Academy, which had a brutal training regimen. Competitive martial arts like Tae Kwan Do and and Kendo were standard exercises. Nagatake had been introduced to Aikido prior to his admittance to the academy. Given the dedication to the art of war, the academy did not study Aikido.

Aikido had been founded by Morihei Ueshiba, also called O-Sensei or great teacher, early in the twentieth century on Terra. He had visualized it as a way to unite humanity to live in harmony, not as a mode of combat. It was not intended to be competitive nor lethal. In the centuries since it's inception, Aikido continued to grow. It spread from planet to planet, remaining true to O-Sensei's vision. Though that philosophy was not in keeping with his former academy mindset, it was ideal for what Nagatake wanted to convey.

During class instruction, Minh addressed him as "sensei", meaning teacher in Japanese. The women had been confused, thinking that Nagatake had changed his name. They were corrected when Minh explained what it meant. The women had wanted to address Minh by the same title since she had been teaching them. She disabused them of the practice, saying that she was merely a student herself. Nagatake informed them that they could call her "deshi" or apprentice.

When he first started, he conveyed to them the terms of "budo" and "bujitsu". He told them that for their purposes, there was little difference. Bujitsu was technique, a martial art meant for fighting. Budo meant way, guidelines that directed a person's decision making process in life. His purpose was to combine a sense of responsibility with his presentations.

He wanted them to understand that their practice was not necessarily for the control of the opponent, but for the control of themselves. Once a person had achieved control, effective self defense was possible. The purpose of the training was not for the ability to kill someone. To kill would be irresponsible and cause complications. Instead of solving their problem, it would only make it worse. Society would not stand for unrestrained violence.

Minh had the impression that Nagatake was speaking to her. Despite his attempt at simplicity, some of his concepts were much too advanced for beginners to grasp immediately. She assessed her own training and noticed a pattern. According to the information he was imparting, she was becoming a lethal weapon.

Nagatake made mention of the subject each day during the session. Sometimes it was at the beginning and sometimes as a parting thought, he would give the women a new pearl of wisdom. To Minh it sounded like fortune cookie philosophy.

"The hardest opponent you will have to defeat is yourself."

"Mastering yourself is the hardest task you will undertake."

"Do not fight to kill. Fight for right."

"Revenge and hatred are poor excuses for combat."

"A true warrior battles with purpose, not motive."

Minh had thought that motivation was a purpose. Perhaps motivation was a means to an end. But to what end? It was obvious that Nagatake was trying to infuse the women with restraint. She wondered if that was all he wanted to instill.

He taught humbleness with martial prowess. After the first several days, Minh observed that the women had begun to behave in a level and responsible manner with each other. They had stopped trying to outperform each other in practice.

During the physical demonstrations, Minh acted as uke for Nagatake. It was the responsibility of the uke to be the attacker, giving the defender a practice partner. She had to control her reflexes to permit him to demonstrate his technique on her. After her training with the Elementals, the urge to defend herself was hard to contain.

"The women's lack of expertise is no reflection on your teaching ability. You have been taught well," Nagatake told Minh one day. "What they require is the repetition of practice to match the knowledge you have shared with them."

He had also noticed that Minh was very dexterous. Since she did not have great size and strength, the Elementals had concentrated on what assets she had. They developed her speed and accuracy. In his opinion, they had done well, but a great part of their success was her motivation. Although he had complimented her teaching, he remained silent about her skill. An instructor from the Draconis Combine did not offer more than minimal praise on a student. The silence would be perceived as criticism, thus the student would strive harder for improvement.

Since the classes took place in the barracks, they had to use mattresses as mats. They were hardly satisfactory, since they were too thin to provide much protection from the hardness of the floor. In addition, Nagatake did not want them to practice without supervision due to the risk of poorly executed technique. Either he or Minh had to be present to prevent accidents.

Minh exercised a patience born from her understanding of the people she was working with. Some just did not have what it took. They could not figure it out and get it together. Minh would try to encourage them. Sometimes words failed her, but she would physically guide the student.

Outside of practice, the two Draconis Combine expatriates were able to speak in their spare moments. Nagatake learned that she had tutored Stev Ch'in in Japanese speech. He wondered what subject the pilot had tutored her in return.

"Sometimes he would talk to me about personal things," she admitted, not explaining any further details. "But I looked up words on computer on ship."

That research was an example of her motivation, Nagatake noted. What he did not know was that Minh was purposely withholding information from him. She was keeping her own counsel, not telling Nagatake all of their plans. In his absence Minh taught the women how to move in stealth. The women cooperated by not telling Nagatake. He was a man, after all.

When Erin was released from the infirmary, she was welcomed back to the barracks like a hero. With her nose still healing, she could not engage in unrestricted practice. However, Minh spent time walking her through her forms.

There was another matter which Minh kept from Nagatake. She did not want him to suspect that she was escalating the upcoming altercation. He would not approve. His daily axioms to the women had convinced her of that. In spite of that, Minh chose to increase her own skills. Unfortunately the barracks did not offer the proper area. She needed to drop and roll, actions not safe to perform on the hard indoor floor. Additionally, she had a new exercise that would require a partner. Erin quickly agreed to assist her. It would give Minh an extra opportunity to give her extra instruction which would help catch her up with the other women.

Fal had been keeping an eye on Minh, basically because she had learned there was more to the small woman than met the eye. When she saw Minh remove the handle from a push broom and then head out of the barracks with Erin, she followed.

Minh had stopped at the bottom of the stairs outdoors. Having heard Fal trailing behind them, she waited. Catching up, Fal explained that she wanted to join them on their outing and participate in their practice. Her curiosity about the broom handle was evident. Minh had not considered inviting anyone else to accompany them. Not wanting to show favoritism, Minh gave her assent. It was then she wondered if she had a favorite. Some teachers did have favorite students, despite the best of intentions. Minh hoped she did not have a preferred pupil. That was not why she had been visiting Erin in the infirmary. She realized that she had been attending to a student, but cultivating friendship.


	8. Chapter 7

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Seven by D G Palmer/1

Fort Bivouac

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

15 March 3051

Salen brought Minh to the BattleMech assembly area. The 'Mech bays were not much more than sheds, good enough to keep out any rain but little else. Salen's BattleMech stood inside one of the buildings. Mobile diagnostic equipment, power generators, tool chests, and work benches were gathered at it's feet. Off to the side was an A-frame mounted with a heavy duty cable winch.

One leg of the 'Mech was encased in scaffolding. A temporary brace joined the machine's shin and thigh, taking pressure off of the knee joint. With the armor opened up, the techs had been able to remove the faulty bearing. Minh wondered how long the repair was supposed to take. No stranger to heavy maintenance work, she felt she could have accomplished the task much faster. It was as if the techs were dragging out their time. However, Minh remained quiet as she listened to the MechWarrior.

With a note of pride, Salen described her machine. The Hellbringer was a sixty five ton OmniMech. The pod space had a capacity of twenty eight and a half tons. Salen noticed that Minh looked confused. She smiled as the small woman sought to hide her reaction. She explained that OmniMechs could be configured at the whim of their pilots. Weapon pods could be attached and removed, not unlike component parts. Her 'Mech was equipped with a Streak SRM-Six with a ton of ammunition. Beneath the shoulder mounted short ranged missile launcher were two extended range medium lasers in the right torso. In the right arm was a medium sized Ultra autocannon. It had the capability to fire twice as fast as a regular autocannon and had two tons of ammunition to feed it. The missile and cannon munitions in the right torso were contained within Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment, commonly called CASE. It was CASE that prevented an on board ammunition explosion from destroying the BattleMech by directing the force of the blast away from the machine. In the left arm was an extended range particle projection cannon. To round out the equipment, a targeting computer improved the accuracy of the cannon and energy weapons.

That would explain the consistent hits against her tank, Minh discerned silently.

Minh digested the information she had just learned. She had been aware of the Streak SRM-Two system, but the six missile system was unheard of. Until now, it would seem. The Streak system was unusually proficient with ammunition expenditures. It would only fire when it had a positive target lock. Unless the target was equipped with an antimissile system, all of the missiles would strike, inflicting the maximum amount of damage possible. Equally amazing were the Ultra AC, ER medium laser, and ER PPC. These weapons had been maximized over anything the great houses could put into the field. The targeting computer was a completely different matter. All mechanized armored units had computers to help the operator utilize the weapons. The computers assisted with the automatic functions, such as gyroscopic stabilization and target identification. The ability to substantially improve a gunner's accuracy was beyond the scope of what was available in the Draconis Combine. Exceptionally efficient weapons computers had not been seen since the ancient days of the Star League. She was amazed by the many advancements made by the clan army.

She looked up at the sturdy appearance of the heavy 'Mech. Over the left shoulder was a spotlight, a feature which had led to her assumption months ago that this machine was a Warhammer. At the time, she had noticed a number of differences, like the shape of the arms. Now that she was able to get a much closer look, she observed another dissimilarity. The center of the torso was pointed outward. The Dragon heavy BattleMech of the Draconis Combine had that feature. She had not noticed it at the time, which was understandable. She had been fighting a losing battle for her life.

During the inspection, a warrior joined the two women. Standing with arms crossed over his chest, he grinned in an unpleasant manner.

"Has the commander found you yet?" he asked Salen.

"I have not seen her all day," Salen replied.

"I did not think so. You do not seem unhappy," he seemed entirely too pleased with himself. "I heard that she has news for you."

"Really," Salen's tone was guarded. It was obvious that she wanted to ask him what he meant, but she did not intend to fall for his game.

"She was talking to Quint."

"Uh huh," Salen sounded very noncommittal.

Minh thought of her display of self control as the calm before the storm. Given the warrior caste propensity for honesty, it seemed dishonest for the others to be talking about Salen behind her back. It was unprofessional that Salen would learn of her own personal matters from a peer not involved in her chain of command. It would be surprising if she did not react.

"The augmentation of your trial has been decided. The Fire Moth Omni."

"A surrender 'Mech!" Salen said in derision, her restraint cracking. Because he had heard about the selection before Salen did, Minh wondered if she would take issue over the disgraceful situation.

"You will be able to outfit it any way you want."

To Minh, the man's voice assumed an annoying, oily quality. His false helpfulness grated in her ears.

"Six and a half tons," she said in dismissal. "That is a whole lot of room to pack in armament!"

The warrior enjoyed Salen's sarcastic tone. He said nothing and waited for her to continue her tirade. He was not disappointed.

"I have not had time to practice with another 'Mech," Salen protested. "Certainly not with that one!"

"A warrior must always be prepared," came the reproving tone. It was as if he was repeating a slogan.

"I was under the impression that I would use my Omni," Salen went on in denial. "The trial has been postponed until it has been repaired."

"It would be poor form to transfer your Omni to another warrior while it still required repair. Oh, yes. When that time comes, I intend to become the new pilot of this Omni." Adler made no attempt to hide his gloating.

"You will not take it from me, Adler," Salen pledged.

"Once you fail your test, you will not be permitted to keep it."

Minh had been looking away, made uncomfortable by Salen's petulance. That behavior was shameful in her eyes. Soldiers in the Draconis Combine made do with the equipment they were issued. They did not have a choice. As if summoned by her train of thought, a familiar rounded shape caught her attention at another 'Mech shed. She walked away from the argument and confirmed that the unit she had discovered was a Demolisher tank. It had been her Demolisher tank. She was certain of it. She could tell by the patchwork armor pattern on the turret and driver's position. The missing sections had been replaced, but paint had not been applied over the primer undercoat. As she drank in the sight with her eyes, she noticed that the armament had been changed. Where there had been a single gauss rifle barrel, now two occupied it's place. They were positioned in a peculiar side by side arrangement, one mounted higher than the other.

Minh clambered up onto the tank, using the side of the tread at the front as a step ladder, much like she had before. A tech working nearby yelled at her to stay off of it, but she ignored him.

It was when the man shouted that Salen noticed that Minh had wandered away. Her voice trailed off and she quickly forgot that she was involved in a conversation, unpleasant as it was. She watched as the little bondswoman slipped down into the commander's hatch on top of the turret and disappeared inside the tank. A tech who had been working nearby angrily headed after her. Salen intercepted the tech.

"I will handle this," she informed him, diverting him from chasing after Minh.

Unmindful of the activity outside of the Demolisher, Minh examined the arrangement of the new equipment. She had recalled that the interior had been roomier when she had been it's commander. Previously set up for manual loading, the open space was now occupied with two automated loaders. The crew position of loader had been eliminated. The vehicle only required a driver and gunner, but a back up station provided auxiliary gunnery control to the commander.

To Minh, it was an interesting arrangement. She had never seen such advanced technology. The controls at each station were intuitive with wide view screens. She activated the commander's station. Powered by the auxiliary battery circuit, the screen lit up. Minh observed a panoramic view around the tank that had been compressed into a hemisphere. An icon indicated something was moving on top of the turret. Whatever it was, it was too close to be seen by the visual sensors. She could not see the tech so she decided it was him. There was time enough to deal with him if he posed a problem to her. She continued to examine the control board.

Two gauss rifles! She wondered how the clan had been able to cram two of these massive weapons into the tank. The diagonal placement ensured that the large breeches had room to operate. According to the board, there was no gauss ammunition on board but there was room to store forty rounds. There was also a weapon mounted at the front of the tank. A small pulse laser. She knew about lasers, but what was a pulse laser? A warning on the board alerted her that the emergency batteries had not been charged sufficiently to power the gauss rifles or the pulse laser. However, the two heat sinks required for the laser were functional.

This was much different from what had been here before. The single gauss rifle the tank had previously been equipped with was all the militia could afford to arm the tank with. Despite the available weight, there had been no other weapons installed.

It amazed her that the commander's board could tell her that the fuel tank was almost empty. The commander's override was much more advanced than the override Minh had, permitting the commander to fire the gauss rifles and pulse laser. In addition, the combat suite was much more capable than the one she had used before. A targeting database had been installed. The gauss rifles were gyroscopically stabilized. The tank could fire on the run. It did not have to stop and shoot.

There was a helmet at each station. She picked up the helmet and saw that there was no cord for the integral microphone and ear speakers. The visor had two layers, one inner one was clear and the outer one shaded. They could be adjusted for complete or partial coverage of the face.

She could barely see the driving station from where she was. She remembered her last view of it months ago, shattered by gunfire. Nothing was left of the position nor the man who had occupied it. It had been a miracle that she had not been killed as well.

"Minh."

The small bondswoman almost dropped the helmet in startlement. She looked up and saw Salen peering down into the turret.

"You should not be here," Salen said, not unkindly.

_Salen has that correct_, Minh thought. _I should be dead_.

She placed the helmet back and deactivated the control station. She winnowed up through the hatch, feeling an odd melancholy. She would never crew, much less command, this tank ever again.

Minh dropped down lightly over the side, then waited for Salen to join her. The MechWarrior took her time climbing down.

"This way," she directed, leading Minh away. The tech stood near the opening of the shed, glaring belligerently at the bondswoman. Still feeling disturbed from her visit to the tank, Minh stopped next to the taller man and looked him straight in the eye. Feeling aggressive, she did not want to be the first to look away. The tech was only too willing to match scowls with the woman.

Salen shook her head in exasperation when she realized what Minh was doing. Striding back, she grasped the back of Minh's collar and almost jerked her off of her feet. The tech chuckled to himself as Minh clumsily kept her balance while being dragged away. Her face burned with humiliation.

Assured that Minh would walk on her own, Salen released her grip on the small woman and permitted her to walk alongside. Instead of heading back to the Hellbringer shed, Salen had chosen a different shelter. Inside was a another kind of BattleMech that Minh did not recognize. Was this the 'surrender 'Mech'?

"Loser 'Mech!" Salen was in a sour mood. She risked losing her OmniMech as well as her position in a first-line unit. If she should fail, she would be assigned to a second-line 'Mech or worse. There were MechWarriors who were only assigned as supernumeraries. All they could do was wait until there was an open piloting position. In the meantime, they served as sentries and performed duties that would free up the employed pilots while they were in the field. It was a demeaning existence. She said nothing further, not desiring to discuss her predicament. Minh remained silent as well as she examined the unit.

Given Salen's attitude, it was apparent that she was being set up to fail. With that in mind, Minh assumed that this 'Mech was the lightest Omni the clans fielded. That would make it twenty tons.

The Fire Moth was covered with angular plates of armor. Parked with legs in a wide stance, it seemed to be a very stable firing platform. Walking around the tall machine, Minh saw that there was an armor shield hanging behind the rear of the torso. It was undoubtedly for protection during running battles. She did not know how fast it was. If it was a slow target, it would need all the covering it could get. Of course, the rear mounted shield suggested that the 'Mech was fast. The arms seemed to be mounted upside down, the elbows hinged on the dorsal surface. As Salen said, it almost looked like it was preparing to surrender. All the arms had to do was rotate straight up.

"Not a whole lot of room at all," Salen murmured, deep in thought.

xxXxxxXxx

After the visit to the BattleMechs, Minh was shaken by what she had seen. The clans were more powerful than she had previously believed. Actually it was more than she had dared herself to believe. She was having other doubts as well. She began to think about Keen's plan to train her to become an Elemental. She was so small. She lacked their power and muscular physiques. It seemed the idea was little more than fantasy. A fantasy that was fed on her infatuation with Keen. She had been deceiving herself to believe in it. After all, Batiste himself had told her once that she would never be permitted to wear Elemental power armor. What kind of experiment was she involved in anyway? It was a fantasy, only fantasy.

Minh tried to immerse herself in her responsibilities. It was an attempt to ignore her increasing dissatisfaction. She knew she had worth. The respect of the Elementals who trained her seemed to confirm that. Thoughts of escape seemed ludicrous when she considered Keen and his point. Apart from the animosity of some of the warriors and other men, her lot in life in Clan Wolf was not that bad. She ate well. Her time was occupied with tasks that were not demeaning in any way. No one mistreated her at all.

In fact, she felt guilty because her life seemed to be going too well. Perhaps that was the source of her discontent. She was actually a prisoner of war. She had lost the battle and had been captured. She had survived a hit against her tank that should have taken her life. If anyone should have survived, it was Brenner, her driver. Unlike Minh, he had been married. He had left behind a wife who would never see him again. She felt responsible for his death, but she assumed that the source of that feeling was survivor's guilt. It had been said that survival was the fortune of combat. On the other hand, she had been the tank commander. As commander, she was responsible for her crew. As the commander, she did not dare to avoid that responsibility. Not openly and certainly not within the privacy of her own mind. It would be an insult to his memory if she should feel sorry for herself. It would be even worse if she forgot his memory. It was her desire not to disgrace the memory of everyone who died that day.

What Minh would learn next would cause her to question what she knew of clan life. She would have to reevaluate what she believed of the clan.

On the day of Keen's trial, Salen took Minh to the Fort Bivouac Meeting Hall to watch the ceremony. Inside the hall was a platform in the center of the floor. Facing the platform on three sides was bleacher seating. The two women sat back in one elevated corner as the crowd gathered. They had a clear, if distant, view of the platform.

As they waited for the competitors to arrive, Salen explained what they were looking at. On the stage stood a funnel mounted on a slender post. Where the funnel joined the post, a removable section of clear plastic pipe had been fitted. The mechanically-operated equipment was instrumental in the trial process. There would be no judge. The device was the judge. It was here that the venue of the trial would be decided.

While Salen spoke, Minh observed a familiar white haired Elemental enter the hall. It was the woman she had seen entering the dining hall the morning Minh learned to swim. Salen observed Minh's interest.

"That is Callista," she disclosed. "She is also competing. She won her match last week."

Keen would be competing with a woman? What kind of trial was this? The situation was becoming stranger.

"She is one of Keen's sybkin, what you would call a sibling," Salen continued.

Brother and sister? Minh examined the woman and noted that she bore very little resemblance to Keen. Despite her tall and sturdy build, she had a feline grace. It was that movement that seemed to put the truth to Salen's words. Callista came to a stop at the side of the stands where Minh could still see her.

"Of course, not all of the competitors are from the same sybko," Salen went on. "Many sybkos use the same bloodlines." Gradually Minh came to understand what was at stake here. This was a bloodname trial, a test of warrior competence. This was a challenge where warriors would have the opportunity to compete for a bloodname. It was not normally a judicial trial, except in Keen's case. For him, the test also served as his recertification.

Salen also explained the elimination rounds. Thirty one warriors of the House of Murphy had been nominated. Additionally, a grand melee had been held last month for warriors vying for the thirty second spot. These were made up of individuals who were unable to get nominated. They either did not have the patronage of influential bloodnamed warriors or who had fallen out of favor.

The thirty two participants would be divided into sixteen pairs. The victors would go to the second round of eight bouts. Callista was one of those victors. Minh followed the simple mathematical progression in her head. The third round would have four bouts, then two in the next.

By the fifth round, the remaining two finalists would face each other.

A man stepped up onto the platform and stood behind the device, facing the watching audience. Salen identified him to Minh as the star colonel commanding Alpha Trinary. The crowd fell to silence as they waited for him to speak.

"I am the Oathmaster for House Murphy in this proceeding," he announced. His voice carried easily through the hall. Minh marveled at the acoustical properties of the spacious hall. "The challengers will now approach and present themselves for the decision."

Two Elementals approached from diametrically positioned doorways near the platform. The large men were difficult to differentiate from Minh's seat in the back. As they moved, she could not help but recognize Keen's smooth grace. She could now believe that Keen and Callista shared the same genetic material. The two men met at the funnel-topped device, facing each other over it.

"From the days of the Star League, our ancestors have sought to refine human abilities to levels undreamt of in their day."

Minh noted the star colonel's reference to the Star League. She did not know what the Star League had to do with these warriors. As she had come to understand, the clans did not represent the houses of the Inner Sphere. It had been the houses that had made up the Star League centuries ago.

_Why would the descendants of bandits and pirates give reverence to the Star League?_ Minh pondered.

"Your presence here before this assembly marks you among the apex of your peers. Your success at this trial will affirm your place in the contests to come. It is not only for your own advancement but for the glory of the House of Murphy that you do this," the star colonel's voice resounded in exhortation. "What happens here will bind us all until the last wolf falls."

"Seyla," the two Elementals acknowledged.

Minh could barely understand what he was saying. Some of the words were unfamiliar to her, like 'apex' and 'seyla'. She was certain she could understand the gist of what these men were talking. The title 'Oathmaster' most likely meant that the star colonel was the master of the ceremony.

"Keen, you are twenty-two years. Describe your worthiness to participate in this contest to us now."

"I was nominated to this Bloodname by Chuck Murphy because of my skill in combat and martial knowledge. I was first in my sibko upon graduation and became point commander on that day."

Callista reacted to that comment with the twitch of a smile. To Minh it seemed to be in irony. An uncommon expression, it was as if she were reliving that time. She wondered if that were a result of sibling rivalry. Looking back on her own life, Minh knew she had not competed with her own brother. They did not have the same goals in life. Their culture had determined that they take different paths.

"In my first battle I earned the right to keep my placement of command. In my last battle I personally defeated a platoon of motorized infantry and disabled two tanks."

Callista had felt the weight of Minh's gaze. As the two women examined each other, Minh almost missed hearing Keen's comment about the infantry. Callista saw the small woman's head sudden snap back to the ritual. Callista's curiosity had been piqued by the other woman's change in demeanor.

Watching the ceremony, Salen did not notice Minh stiffen beside her, nor the sudden pallor of her face. Minh was stunned. Keen's words reverberated in her memory. The men he had slain were her militia comrades. She recalled the images of the dead men and women after that battle. She remembered their expressions of horror. She now knew it came from being attacked by Keen in his fearsome power armor.

Lost in her mental torment, Minh did not pay attention to the other Elemental's dissertation when he was prompted by the ritemaster. She would not be able to recall what anyone said later.

She barely registered the activity as each competitor handed the Oathmaster a coin. They demonstrated their reverence by using both hands. The star colonel placed the coins into the funnel device, one on each side in slots provided. He spoke of hunting and of prey, then touched a control on the device. The coins were released into the inverted cone and they whirled around inside.

From the distance, Minh could not see what was happening, but she could imagine the metal disks as they rolled on their rims. Drawn by gravity, they circulated inside the funnel as they sank lower and lower towards the hole in the narrow bottom. After they fell through, the star colonel drew them out of the base of the duct. The coin that had landed on top was the hunter. The hunting coin belonged to Keen. He was his place to choose the style of combat. He chose to hunt without augmentation.

"Keen will not be wearing his Elemental power armor. This contest will be man to man," Salen said.

Man to man. The infantry platoons had been made up of men and women, yet they had been mown down by Keen's suit.

Remembering Keen's sojourn in the lake, she had assumed that he would have chosen augmentation. Not understanding the rules of the ritual at first, she found she had been mistaken.

When she heard the bearer of the stalked coin choose the venue, she understood how the choices were made. Keen was the hunter as a result of the coin decision. It was apparent he was very confident in his strength and skill in unaugmented combat. It was his opponent who had the prerogative of choosing location and time of the contest.

Through this process, both contestants had an advantage.

Minh was not familiar with where they would meet, but she understood the site would require transportation. Apparently the place was not near the hall. In her state of mind, she was not concerned about it. She simply did not care.

The star colonel announced that they would await the transport of the two Elementals. The assembled audience would be able to watch the event in the hall. Salen informed Minh that there were holovid emitters in the hall. They would create a three dimensional image in the air above the platform, much like a massive view screen. Cameras set up at the site of combat would transmit the action.

The ritual participants left the stage. Many of the audience rose from their seats to stretch their legs. Minh watched Keen leave the hall. She thought about him in a different light. Minutes ago it was as if he had suddenly changed into a merciless killer. She had known he was as close to being an efficient fighting machine as a man could become, but...

"Minh," Salen had stood up and taken a few paces away. Minh looked at the dark-haired MechWarrior who motioned for her to follow. As she rose, she was thankful for the respite from her thoughts. She felt hollow inside, as if a breeze could blow her over. Her vision had narrowed as if she were looking through a tunnel. She kept Salen in her sight as she trailed behind.

Outside of the meeting hall, Salen paused within the bustle of other warriors. Unable to see over the taller people, Minh watched as Salen searched around them. Seeing her objective, she led the way to the side of the building. Leaving the thinning crowd, Minh could see their destination. Keen sat on a bench underneath the boughs of a large tree. Batiste stood before him. The two men were in conversation.

Minh felt her pulse race. She quickened her pace until she was walking beside Salen. She was not aware of any sound. The assembled warriors speaking around her could have been silent for all she knew. The tunnel vision before her eyes had closed out everyone but Keen.

Keen noticed the two women as they approached. It was the intensity of Minh's stare that held his attention. He could sense her agitation through the fixed cast of her almost mask-like countenance, marred only by a twitch beneath one eye.

Seeing his point commander's apparent distraction, Batiste turned to regard the newcomers. Salen was about to greet the Elementals when she noticed their reaction to the small bondswoman.

Minh had stopped in front of Keen, her body posture stiff. A look of loathing crossed her features. Suddenly, with a crying gasp of effort, she slapped him.

Keen seemed to see the blow coming, but he did not attempt to avoid it. The force of her strike did not budge his head. He remained impassive, expressing neither surprise nor anger at her sudden attack. The only visible sign was a pale blush on the side of his jaw left by her open hand.

Minh had only become increasingly infuriated by her apparent ineffectiveness. Mottled red blotches appeared on her face. Her body shook like a taut string to the power of her pent up agitation. She wanted to flail away at Keen. Yet the knowledge of her relative impotence held her back. She needed to resolve the issue in her mind. That inability to release herself conflicted with an ingrained demand for justice, preventing resolution.

Through her red haze of anger, Minh became aware of the activity around her. She did not have to take her eyes off of Keen to use her peripheral vision.

Batiste shifted himself uneasily. It angered him that a bondswoman would forget her proper place and affront a warrior with an unprovoked strike. Had it been against anyone else but Keen, he would have intervened. However, Keen was her bondholder and it was up to him to decide how he would deal with her disrespectful deed.

Salen moved around on the other side. She was well out of reach but still within Minh's field of vision. She not wish to appear to be a threat to Minh. She had been clearly surprised by Minh's impetuous action. She had not noticed Minh's troubled silence earlier. Rather than brace the small woman in wrath, she tried to figure out her irrational conduct.

To the other warriors who had witnessed the confrontation, it was a spectacle in itself. The smallest, lowest caste person had just struck one of the largest without regard for reprisal.

Minh had not forgotten that Keen had struck her before. With provocation, he could do so again. She had just given him that provocation. Perhaps that was what she wanted. Perhaps she wanted him to put her out of her misery. After all, she was only a bondswoman. She had just attacked a warrior, her bondholder, without just cause before witnesses.

She remembered the gentle touch of his strong hand, but instead of desire, she felt revulsion. She would rather be struck again.

Her cheek twitched again.

"You murdered them! They did not have a chance against you. Yet you boast of your supremacy over them!" Minh accused him, her voice betraying her emotional instability. Her cheek began to tic uncontrollably. In trying to overcome the involuntary reaction, one side of her lip curled up in a sneer. It was not a pleasant sight to behold.

"They faced me in battle. They were worthy-."

"Worthy!" Minh leaped on the word, almost spitting it out.

"Worthy of remembrance," Keen continued patiently.

"There is no honor in killing a helpless enemy," Minh argued.

"They faced me with honor," Keen returned. "That is why I remember them."

"You bragged on your easy victory," Minh would not let it go.

"I never claimed easy victory. No true victory is ever easy. Unworthy victories should not be memorialized," Keen remained forbearing. Instead of punishing her, he indulged in explanation.

"By reciting them in his litany, Keen honors them," Salen joined in.

"A foe not worthy of battle reflects poorly on the victor," Keen intoned. "You do their memory a disservice by minimizing their worth. By recounting them, I honor them."

"Some honor," Minh tried to imagine her dead comrades in life, but the only image she could think of was her last sight of them. They had been lying lifelessly on their backs in the mud beneath the falling rain. She wondered how they would have reacted to Keen's concept of honor. "You say that like it is a good thing."

"It is," Salen interjected.

Minh speared her with the same severe look she had been giving Keen. The intensity was surprisingly difficult to endure. Even though Salen's MechWarrior status was superior to the bondswoman's, she was still distinctly uncomfortable. She wondered how Keen had been able to hold up under that merciless stare. As she became aware of Minh's nervous tic, the smaller woman looked at the ground. She gave no sign that she had been convinced by their reasoning.

Minh recognized that she would be unable to convince these people of anything. How could they not realize that they were wrong? In her present state of mind, she was unwilling to listen to them. If she were calm, it would probably be different. In any case, she did not want to stay to observe the match. She looked at each of them. Salen appeared puzzled by her behavior. Batiste was indignant. Keen was just Keen, merely watching her as before. With her spine straight, she lifted her chin proudly. Without another word, she turned and walked away. No one tried to stop her.

"I do not know if she understood us," Keen looked at her back. Her stiff posture made her anger very noticeable.

"She understood us," Salen said. "At least she understood our words. Whether she can reconcile them to understand our ways, that is the question."

Keen felt the weight of someone's attention on him. He looked around and saw Callista. He met her gaze. Her smirk revealed that she had observed the altercation.

"I know you felt that," Batiste said.

"Aff," Keen acknowledged, glancing at Batiste in surprise. His bronze-skinned subordinate was rubbing his cheek in speculation. He was referring to Minh's slap. Yes, it had stung when Minh had struck him. However, having Callista see what had happened seemed to sting more.

Minh wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Instead of finding peace, she became more incensed. In addition, it occurred to her that she was developing a hot-blooded hatred for Keen. It confused her because she had previously thought that she might be in love with him. She wondered if she could love and hate someone at the same time. The intensity of the opposing emotions extremely unsettled her. She had never been close to anyone outside of her family. She had never dated. She had never associated with her male classmates nor the boys of her father's employees. Love had always been abstract, something outside of her experience. Love was that thing that would occur later in life. She was completely unprepared to deal with these feelings now.

Instead, she fled from her emotional confusion while her mind replayed their conversation. What he said had made sense. Emotionally, she did not want to accept his words. If she had been brought up in a warrior's family, his explanation would have been easier to take. In the Draconis Combine, it was part of samurai tradition for opponents to test their skill against each other. Risking their lives, they did not ask for mercy if the battle should go against them. That was the knowledge that she had been instilled with. Soldiers imbued with samurai spirit fought as though they were already dead. Minh was not samurai, but she understood. She had not considered surrender when she had been fighting in her tank, although the battle had been lost from the start. All she had intended to do was fight to the best of her ability before she was killed.

Her outrage was difficult to rationalize. Perhaps it was the guilt that she was feeling, just as Nagatake had felt when he had upbraided her on the JumpShip. As he had used her as an outlet for his rage, she had used Keen in the same manner. The only difference was that Keen was the enemy.

Her mind suddenly shifted to another concern, one which also made her feel guilty. Why was she really staying here? With the opportunities she had, as well as the skills the Elementals were teaching her, it was possible for her to escape.

The reason foremost in her mind was her duty to the women in the barracks. She had committed herself to help free them of improper domination and abuse. She could not turn her back on them now and claim to have any semblance of honor.

Another reason was that she had nurtured the hope of affection from Keen. In the cold light of reason, she had to admit that she had permitted herself to be swayed by emotional attachment. She was ashamed of herself. She should not have allowed Keen the opportunity to interfere with her allegiance to the Draconis Combine. That was exactly what was happening between them. She could admit that to herself now. Without the tantalizing hope that Keen no longer provided, all she had holding her back was her duty to the women in the barracks. A duty that could easily be discharged that evening.

That realization gave her a newfound mental acuity. Escape had become much more than a concept. It was now a goal, one that Minh could actually accomplish. She already had the freedom to contemplate and devise her plan. She must prepare herself to act on any opportunity to get away. To do that, she needed a plan. Once she escaped, she must be able to perform her duty to the Draconis Combine. Whatever that duty happened to be.

With impatience fueling her determination, she hurried her pace toward the barracks.

xxXxxxXxx

Keen's duel took place in the mountainous region of the Warrior Testing Preserve. The two Elementals had been transported by separate vertical take-off and landing aircraft, commonly known as VTOLs. Tall trees prohibited adjacent landings in the remote area. There were no meadows close to the selected sight and the few clearings were too far apart. It would take days for the opponents to meet. Clan tactical doctrine called for quickly resolved battles.

The best solution had been for the Elementals to rappel from their aircraft. Hovering at opposite ends of a ridge, the competitors could see each other's VTOL. Upon reaching the sloping ground, each headed for the other's apparent insertion zone and the battle was quickly joined.

Batiste watched the action unfold by holovid in the meeting hall. He noted that Keen performed with less finesse than he would have expected. He fought more in the way that Batiste himself would have. He had been brutal and merciless. Before three minutes had passed, Keen stood triumphantly over his beaten opponent.

Meeting with Keen afterwards, Batiste remarked that Keen fought with an edge of ferociousness.

"That little bondswoman really got under your skin," he concluded.

Keen remained thoughtfully silent.

xxXxxxXxx

When Minh entered the barracks, she set to work. Without speaking to anyone she surprised a number of women. For those who passed her impromptu test, she instructed them to go to Henna's office and wait for her. She administered the final test in the shower. It was Erin. Occupied with washing her hair, she did not see Minh's approach. Blinded by the soap in her eyes, her apparent helplessness was only temporary. She also passed the test.

Soaking wet, Minh walked into the office with towel-wrapped Erin trailing behind her. For a moment, the women stared as Minh stood dripping with water. Her hair was plastered to her head and neck. Water puddled at her feet.

"We strike tonight," she broke the silence.

The women were speechless. They had not expected to take action so soon. Hearing the undercurrent of anger in the small woman's voice, they did not know what to make of it. Had something happened?

Henna observed Minh's intensity. Something must have happened and she seemed to be reacting to it. It was as if she were eager to resolve something.

xxXxxxXxx

"I have further word about Minh," Henna said quietly into the com unit on her desk. Her door was locked, but she did not want to take chances of being overheard by speaking too loud.

"Tell me," it was Batiste.

"Minh intends to move on the other barracks an hour after lights out," Henna said.

"I see," Batiste said. "You have done well. You have not tried to stop her, quaff?"

"Aff, just as you commanded," Henna confirmed.

"Continue to do that." With that, he cut off communication.

Men streamed from the barracks in the darkness. They joined other men in confusion as they were herded by small teams of women. They were ordered to gather around a grassy area and make a circle around it. A nearby street lamp dimly illuminated them. Various men displayed signs of injury. Some had limped, others held their arms or cupped their hands to themselves. A couple of women seemed hurt as well, but there was no question about who was in control.

"Make a hole!" a sharp voice commanded. The men closest parted their ranks, permitting Minh to pass between them. They were not sure if they had obeyed because of her tone of command or because of the long stick she carried casually in hand. The smallest of the women, she was recognized instantly. Many of the men knew her only by reputation and hearsay.

The men had been murmuring in speculation. At her appearance and apparent assumption of command, their voices rose in objection. They had not expected a bondswoman to be in charge and they did not like it.

"You do not find it so funny now!" Minh acknowledged their resentment. "Now it is our turn to test security!" She walked around inside the circle of men and pointed the stick at them.

"You cannot do this to us!" one of the techs disputed.

"Some of you have displayed abusive tendencies. We have gathered you here to correct that," Minh explained, her voice growing harsh. She saw a familiar face. "Ellit! I see you are not on guard duty tonight. I guess Taylor found a lock for the warehouse. Yes, you are so afraid of me that you had locked me in. You could not face me yourself, so you let animal vermin do your dirty work. They attack in packs, you know. Just like some of you. Stealing into the women's barracks and attacking us in groups against one.

"Come now. One of you must certainly be man enough to face me! I am smaller than any single one of you. Show us how a man fights. Meet my challenge."

"Men do not fight women."

"Of course not," Minh said in a deceptively agreeable tone. She could not tell who said that, but she did not let it stop her. "Not men. Not in a fair fight. One on one, with every one watching here and now." Her voice grew contemptuous. "They were not men who faced Erin the other night. They were animals. Vermin! It took four animals to ambush her. Animals like that are not men!"

Minh's insulting manner was intentionally provocative. Some of the men muttered angrily. They were ignorant of what she was talking about and were the most vocal in their denials. The women countered by shouting testimony right back at them.

"It was only in fun," someone called out. "There was no harm done."

"Breaking my nose was supposed to be fun?" Erin demanded as she pushed through the men to stand with Minh.

"We did not do that!"

"He did!" Erin pointed, her willowy figure walking along the crowd of men. She located the other assailants. "He helped, and that one over there. And you, you who are ducking in back. You were holding me so I could not call out!"

"Yeah, I saw you run out of there that night!" another woman joined in.

It was apparent that this was the first time many of the men had heard about the attack. The guilty behavior of the accused men began to sway them. Although the tone of their comments changed, they were still angry about being herded out into the night with the wrongdoers.

"I challenge any one of you," Minh called out. "Right here, right now. That is better than you deserve. That is more than you offered us. You did not give any of us a choice."

The men were unwilling to meet Minh's challenge. This was a highly unusual situation and they suspected a trick of some sort. They were also aware of the Elementals watching from the outskirts of the gathering. They knew of Minh's connection with Elementals and construed their presence as their approval for her action tonight. The feeling the pressure not to show weakness and cowardice was intense.

"Fight me! If you will not fight, I will pick one from among you. Or two. I do not care."

Minh paced before the recalcitrant men. She glared directly into their faces, but they would not meet her eyes. They were afraid she would take that as acceptance to her challenge.

"I will face you," a man finally stepped clear of the crowd. "Just myself, but not while you have that pole!"

"This is not for me, this is for you," Minh held out the staff with one hand, holding it horizontal to the ground. "I do not need a weapon to face you. You will need it in your fight against me. It will even the odds."

"Take it, Trent!" A couple of the watching men urged him, proof that her reputation was known to them.

Minh saw Henna looking around, then noticed her looking at the Elementals. There were only four silhouettes in the darkness, so she assumed Keen was not one of them. She had not thought of Keen for hours. Uncertainty began to cloud her consciousness and she forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand. She returned her attention to Trent.

The man made no move to accept the staff from her. It was obvious he suspected foul play. He remained out of reach of the stick. With a deliberate motion, Minh squared her body to the man. While she kept her eyes locked on his, she slowly pulled the wooden handle back until she held it in the middle, then turned it around her waist until it was sideways between the two antagonists. After that, she remained still as if waiting for the next move. The man provided it, waving a hand in a "come along" gesture. Quickly, she tossed the staff sideways toward the man. He caught it with both hands.

"Attack when you are ready," Minh commanded with assurance.

Nagatake watched the drama unfold from beyond the marshaled men. Having been newly arrived, his barracks had been exempt from the assembly. They had not been involved in the harassment. Nevertheless, their room sentry had wakened them. The man had noticed the activity outside of the windows and was understandably concerned. Taking a look for himself, Nagatake had recognized the women and quickly understood what they were doing. He also observed the Elementals in attendance, although they remained far from the sidelines. Since the warriors were not taking steps to stop what was happening, he decided not to intercede.

He arrived in time to hear the man accept Minh's challenge. As the duel began, Nagatake was perplexed by Minh's ineffectiveness. The man swung the pole in a clumsy manner. He had clearly not practiced with the staff before. He would have known that against an opponent like Minh, he should use the staff in a linear manner. He was fighting the inertia when he swung the staff like a club. For her part, Minh should have known better. She was moving too slow. It was as if she were inviting him to strike her. It was then he realized that the little idiot was playing with her opponent. He looked from the fight to the watching Elementals. He could see their influence in her manner. She was proud and bold in her display of false invulnerability.

The man seemed to realize the limitation of his attacks against the agile bondswoman. Egged on by his comrades, he had to know he was looking bad in their eyes. As if in desperation, he swung the staff around over his head as he stepped back. Minh ducked and stepped forward, drawn by his retreat.

The man took advantage of her advance and suddenly stabbed the staff at her head. The unexpected change in tactic caught Minh by surprise. She tried to fall back to evade impact, but the end of the pole glanced against her forehead. The men cheered as Minh hit the grass, then fell silent in stunned disbelief as she completed a backwards roll and regained her feet.

The man had tried to follow up his strike, thinking that she was down for good. He was using the staff like a spear as he charged. When Minh popped up again, he was already committed to his attack. Since he had hit her once, he assumed she was dazed. Effortlessly, she stepped into his attack and grasped his wrist and elbow. Using his momentum, she directed him around herself, then released him.

He almost fell as he twirled about, but kept his feet. He continued his assault, swinging and jabbing, but he could not repeat his one successful strike. Panting heavily, he raised the staff to attack again when Minh raised her hand.

"Stop and catch your breath," she instructed. She stepped away from him to reduce her threat to him.

The man placed one end of the staff on the ground and leaned on it for support. He appreciated the respite, but he noticed that the bondswoman was hardly breathing at all. She was not even sweating! As he thought about it, it made sense. He had been doing all of the work. All she had to do was avoid his attacks.

Henna entered the ring of men and talked to Minh about her head wound. A thin trickle of blood spilled from over one eye.

"Later," Minh waved her hand at the other woman. "It is of no consequence."

Henna left the ring of men and spoke to another woman. Nagatake heard Henna send her to the infirmary to get a medic.

One of the watching men had come into the ring to give advice to Minh's opponent. He should keep using the staff like a spear. That was how he had been able to hurt the woman before. Then, in a lower voice so Minh could not hear, he altered his advice. Use the pole like a pugil stick.

It took several minutes for Trent to get his air back. While Minh waited, she performed stretching exercises. She worked kinks out of her muscles and kept herself limber. The man thought he should do something similar, but his self consciousness prevented him from doing so.

Katya arrived with the woman that Henna had dispatched. She went straight to Minh, but the bondswoman waved the medic away.

"There will be time enough for that later," Minh said, looking at her opponent meaningfully. The man stood at the ready, the staff held in front of him.

"You are bleeding," Katya reached up, intending to move some of Minh's hair out of the way to see the wound better. Minh impatiently deflected the other woman's arm away, quickly but without animosity.

"I do not want anyone to say that I took advantage. He can hurt me, but he cannot stop me," Minh declared. "You can fix me after this is over."

Katya looked down at the smaller woman. She wanted to press the point but realized the futility of trying. With a small sigh and a shrug, she stepped out of the way.

"Let's do it," Trent said, his voice steady now that he had regained his breath.

"Now is my turn," Minh said in a low, confident voice.

The suddenness of her transformation was frightening. A severe expression appeared on her face as she charged. He had very little time to react, despite her warning. He sought to impale her on the end of the staff. She merely diverted the pole away, neutralizing his defense. As she closed in, he tried to block her by swinging the back end of the pole at her. She spun her body, confusing him to her intentions until her elbow made contact with his ribs. He doubled over, releasing the pole. He took another strike, this time on his jaw. It was unbelievable that she could hit so hard! His head twisted around and his body followed. Unable to catch himself, he hit the grass with a heavy thud.

The crowd was silent at first, then some of the men called for him to get up.

"She is only a girl," one man chided.

"If you really think so, then you fight me," Minh called back shrewishly. Her lightning fast reflexes had caught everyone unprepared. No one else was willing to take up her challenge.

Katya returned to Minh's side.

"See to him first," Minh ordered. "I am not badly hurt." Then, to put the truth to her words, she escorted Katya to the man on the ground.

"Where does it hurt?" Katya asked as Trent tried to sit up. The man was silent as he suspiciously watched Minh squat down next to the medic. He ignored the medic as he examined the bondswoman. Now that the fight was over, the woman's fierce expression was gone. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the thin stripe of blood marking the side of her face.

"This ends here and now," Minh declared quietly. "No one else will face me. Since they supported you to represent them against me, they should listen to you when you give them my terms."

"Terms?" Trent asked.

"No more attacks on the women," Minh said. "Treat us with respect and we will respect you. Next time we will not be so lenient."

"Look, I didn't know about your problems," the man replied. "Most of us have better things to do than molest women."

"You know now," Minh persisted. "Do not make this necessary again."

"After your little display, I believe we have been inspired to police ourselves," the man promised.

"You guys have an understanding, quaff?" Katya demanded, exasperated that these two had not been paying attention to her.

"Aff," the two said in unison.

"Now, where does it hurt?" Katya repeated her initial request.

"Not me," Trent said. He looked at Minh. "I'm surprised you still have a head. I hit you pretty hard."

Minh remained silent. Trent picked himself up.

"Somebody grab those guys! We're going to have a little talk," he brushed himself off as he walked away.

"Yes, why do you still have a head?" Katya turned her attention to Minh, now that the man had refused her medical services.

"She fell back and lessened the force of impact against her head," Fal had been listening to the exchange unnoticed.

Katya tended to Minh's injury. Using alcohol patches, she cleaned the clotting crimson from her forehead. The small woman winced, her eyes watering from the sting of the disinfectant. Her lips remained firmly shut throughout the treatment.

Vera had watched the fight from beyond the circle of men. She had been curious about the commotion. Her barracks was aware of the dissatisfaction brewing in their sister barracks. They had also heard all about Minh. She had been making a name for herself. Vera had kept a low profile, not wanting to meet the pasty-faced little witch. It was not much of a surprise to see the little woman face off with the man. She almost cheered when Minh had been hit with the pole. In the second round, the woman's speed and fury had indeed been a surprise. Vera wanted a chance to hurt Minh. Seeing her in action, she realized that there was no way she could win in a confrontation. She needed an overwhelming advantage to cancel Minh's superior edge. Multiple opponents were not enough against her. She was too skilled against anyone Vera could possibly recruit from among the men available here. If only she had a gun or something.

Something. She had noticed the bondsman Minh had singled out for humiliation prior to her challenge with Trent. Ellit was not much of a man, but she decided to approach him anyway. They had something in common. An acute dislike for Minh. Minh had publicly opposed and humiliated her. She would find a way to make him her ally for what she was going to plan. But, before she could enlist him, she had to find a way to control him, perhaps by flattering his manliness or promising him access to wealth. Perhaps she could beguile him into believing Minh was the key to that wealth. After all, Minh worked with Elementals. Elementals had weapons. All sort of weapons, like explosives and powered suits.

She did not like seeing Katya attend to Minh. The two of them were friends. That gave her an idea. It was deliciously wicked.

Like all ideas, there were details that had to be worked out. Minh was also friends with the Elemental Keen. Any interference from him would spoil everything. However, just the thought of the Elemental added to her motivation. It was Keen who had slain Vera's friend. His only crime was that he was going to teach that uppity Minh a lesson and put her in her place. Instead, he was dead and Minh had thrived. Vera could not get at Keen, for he was untouchable, but she did not need to. It was Minh who was the source of all of the trouble for her. She would deal with Minh.

She would get Katya, too. Her idea formed into a plan and she smiled. Yes, she would find a way to hurt Katya. That traitor! She was not as safe in the infirmary as she thought. In doing so she would make Minh suffer. After it was over, Keen would suffer as a result of her pain too. That would be the price for his arrogant meddling. Vera would see how they liked that.

Before Minh came along, Vera had a cushy arrangement on the JumpShip. She was the top bondswoman. No one dared to question her right to command the other women, much less speak back to her. Then that little bondswoman made her look bad that first day. She had acted so superior to Vera, going so far as to remove her bond cord. Minh had been whipped for that, but Vera had suffered the punishment as well. She heard the other bondswomen laughing about that behind her back. When Minh attacked her in the Elemental bunk room and stole her cleaning equipment, the other women openly talked about it. Her predominance was in question and she had to enforce her position. She had disciplined Katya and regained her authority, but she had lost it again when Nagatake took over her rightful place. Then, to add insult to injury, she was sent to work in the pit. Also known as the waste reclamation plant was nothing but a collection of leaky sewer pipes. Despite the air mask, the foul smell pervaded the protection device. She would never forgive Minh for that indignity.

Vera saw Ellit fade away as the men were released from their forced assembly. She wanted to talk to him, but the time was not right. There were too many people around. No, she did not have to do anything tonight. She had all the time in the world. She watched to see which barracks he returned to. Before the crowd had thinned out, she backed further into the darkness and faded away as well.

As Katya finished applying adhesive tape over the bandage on the side of her forehead, Minh noticed movement. The Elementals were leaving. They had entered the light, which was what caught her attention. She saw Keller show her his fist with the thumb up. Despite her distant feelings, she could not help but feel satisfaction at his approval. Then she saw another Elemental standing near the barracks across from him. The light was poor, but she could see that it was Keen. He gave no sign of recognizing her awareness of him.

Minh seemed to become breathless and her heart fluttered. The confusion of her feelings returned full force. Keen had watched her match. For a brief moment she wondered about the outcome of his trial. Did she really care if he had won or lost it? She did not know how she felt.

"Are you all right?" Katya asked, having noticed Minh's distant expression. Minh looked to Katya and nodded quickly. When she looked back to Keen, he had disappeared.

Holding Minh's chin firmly in one hand, Katya cleaned the rest of the blood from her face. When she finished, Minh thanked the taller woman for her care.

xxXxxxXxx

"Minh, wake up."

Minh wanted to ignore the command. It did not sound like the night watch. The night watches did not speak very loud when it was time to wake Minh for her turn at watch. They whispered, so they would not disturb the other sleepers in the adjacent bunks. The lights were on. Turning the lights on during the night was something else the watches did not do. Other women were awake. They were speaking to each other. The sound of showers running could be heard from the wash room.

"Minh?"

That did not sound like any of the women in the barracks. It sounded like Katya. What was Katya doing in her barracks?

Minh opened her eyes and turned her head. Since she slept on a top bunk, Katya's head was level with her own. Looking past her, Minh could see women getting dressed. A surge of adrenalin fired through her bloodstream and she quickly sat up.

"I overslept!" she hissed, then gasped in pain. She held her head as it throbbed to get her attention. "Oh!"

"Let me see," Katya reached up and gently pulled her hands away. "I was afraid of that. I knew I should have put a cold pack on that."

From her momentary touch, Minh could feel the swelling beneath the bandage. That was the source of the pulsing torment on her forehead.

"Doc wants to see you right now," Katya said. "He will give you something for the pain."

"I overslept," Minh repeated. She looked around, guilt evident on her face.

"I let you sleep," Fal joined Katya at Minh's bunk. "You really put on a show last night. Henna did not think the men would be paying us a visit after that, so she singled up the sentries. I took our watch because you needed your rest."

"You should have let me stand my watch," Minh insisted. "I am okay."

"Let Doc decide that," Katya said. "Come on, get dressed. He is waiting to see you."

"I must wash first," Minh said.

"Doc knows what you smell like," Katya said.

Minh gave Katya a level look. Fal laughed in response.

"I'm out of here," she said.

Minh had her morning wash before accompanying Katya to the infirmary. Katya apologized for being late, but Doc nodded his understanding. He was familiar with Minh's disinclination. Seating Minh on an examination table, he removed the bandage and inspected the head wound. He also peered into her eyes and checked her neck for pain. Minh denied having problems beyond the pain of her injury.

While Doc tended to her, Minh had a sense of relief. She had discharged her duty. Her next task would be to leave these people. She had developed a fondness for Doc as well as Katya. She would miss them.

Minh had a sad smile as she regarded Katya. She did not know when she would be leaving, but she could not say goodbye. It had to remain a secret. Katya noted her sadness, but she did not understand.

"What is wrong?" Katya asked. Minh merely shook her head, carefully so as not to hurt herself.

Doc covered her injury with a new bandage, then stood away from the table to permit her to hop down.

"I will always remember your kindness," she bowed to him.

"That will be nice," Doc sounded perplexed at her formality. "I want to see you tomorrow morning."

"Aff, Doc," Minh acknowledged.

"Let us get you something to eat," Katya escorted Minh from the infirmary. "I'm hungry and you need your energy."

Once outdoors, the two women began to walk in different directions from each other.

"Where are you going?" Katya demanded.

"To eat."

"The dining hall is this way," Katya pointed.

"I eat with the warriors," Minh pointed in her own direction. "Come, you can eat with me."

Katya looked at the small woman. She saw the wistful look in her dark eyes and knew the invitation was important to Minh. However, it was an invitation she could not accept.

"I am only technical caste," Katya explained. "I cannot eat with warrior caste."

"I know that," Minh offered a tentative smile. "The warriors will not see us. There will be no trouble. I promise."

"Well, since you promise," Katya allowed herself to accompany Minh. That was how she found herself in the kitchen of the warrior dining facility. The two women had entered through a side door.

The kitchen was warm from the heat of the grills. The smell of cooking, so pleasant outdoors, was overpowering inside the confines of the room. Several cooks were occupied with food preparation, cooking, and filling serving platters. One of the men looked over at the women as they entered.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, observing that Katya wore a medical patch. "This is a bad time for a health inspection."

"Cook said I could eat back here," Minh explained.

"We are all cooks in here," the man said.

"Well, he said I could call him Cook," Minh explained herself. "He is Grigsby."

"Grigsby is not here right now," the cook said. "But I remember he said something about you."

"I hope I am permitted to bring a guest with me," Minh requested.

The cook looked at Katya and shrugged.

"What the heck, I just might need a favor from the infirmary some time," he said. Katya nodded her agreement to the arrangement and the man continued. "Have a seat over at the back counter. That is where we eat. Just tell us what you want and we will set you up."

It had been a very enjoyable meal. As they ate, the cooks would come by one at a time. They would say that they were checking on how well the two women were doing. Minh assumed that they were fishing for compliments. As a guest, the very least she could do was admit her satisfaction. They had been given choice servings after all, so she expressed her appreciation. However, the men seemed to be giving Katya the majority of their attention. Minh looked at her friend in another light. Katya was a lovely looking woman. Each smile she gave in response to every inquiry seemed to endear her to each cook.

Minh imagined that their cooking schedule gave the men little opportunity for female companionship. It would be unthinkable for them to strike up friendships with the female warriors they served. She understood the dynamics of a stratified society. People were not encouraged to associate with others outside of their peer groups, especially if those others were in a superior position in life. Sitting in the kitchen, Minh was overcome with pleasure. Katya almost preened with the attention she was getting. Seeing her friend relax in her company made her happy as well. For a little while, she had forgotten that one day she would be gone, never to see Katya again.

xxXxxxXxx

After breakfast, Minh arrived at the armory feeling guilty. She had been absent from the morning run with her point. She was worried that they would place restrictions on her as punishment for her delinquency. She kicked the door. It was too stout for her to beat on it with her fist if she wished to be heard inside.

She heard a rattling noise and looked up at the little window in the armory door. A small door opened behind the glass and Minh saw Don's face peer out at her. It was odd, but she had never managed to see anyone look out before. Then she had another thought. She now knew where she had seen his face before. Her memories flashed back to the JumpShip that had brought her to Strana Mechty. The ship had made a hyper jump and she had been staring at the overhead. A face was looking down at her. At the time, she thought it had been a hallucination. She had long suspected that there had been surveillance devices in her confinement cell. That suspicion could have caused her to see things that were not there, to imagine that someone was watching her.

When Don opened the door to admit Minh, he was dumbfounded by her stunned stance. For some reason, she only stood outside the door.

"Are you all right?" he asked. Minh did not react. Curious, Batiste joined him at the door.

"It must be a delayed effect from last night," he surmised. Hearing Batiste's voice, Minh broke out of her trance and stared at Don.

"I saw you on the ship," she said in amazement.

"Definitely a relapse," Batiste continued. "She is talking crazy again. I am going to take her to the infirmary."

"I was just there," Minh seemed to shake off her bewilderment. "I am okay."

"Shut up and walk," Batiste pointed. Minh obeyed, the Elemental following her.

When she reached the infirmary, Minh did not want to discuss what had happened to her. She did not think they would believe her if she told them that she had seen someone she had never met. She was not entirely sure she believed it herself. That was what scared her. She feared that she was losing her mind. Not the most assuring thought when she was contemplating the dangerous activity of escape.

Batiste described her in a condition that Doc presumed to be cataplexy. Katya explained that she had noticed nothing unusual, that Minh had been behaving normally and seemed fine. Minh did not miss the looks Doc and Batiste traded when they heard the word 'normally'. Doc examined her for shock. He recorded her blood pressure and heart rate as well as her temperature. He then prescribed an hour of rest, so he could observe her before sending her back to the Elementals.

Minh resented being treated like a child. She knew that if she protested, it would only serve to prove their charges of irrationality. Her emotional attack on Keen was an example that she did not want to remind Batiste of.

She felt fine. Of course, if she really were out of touch with reality, would she know the difference? She did not want to think about that.

xxXxxxXxx

That evening, Nagatake had arrived at the women's barracks for daily martial arts training. However, Henna informed him that she wanted the visits to stop. It seemed unnecessary to continue, now that the problem had been dealt with. Nagatake acquiesced, even though Minh had disagreed.

"We must always be ready," she said. "One does not throw the lock away just because one thief has been caught."

Henna was not convinced.

"We have to talk," Nagatake told Minh. The two left the barracks room and stood outside on the landing.

"I watched you last night. That was not what I taught you," Nagatake said.

"I know," Minh responded, a pleased look on her face. Nagatake sighed.

"You set a good example by caring for your opponent after the fight," Nagatake commended. "But I am concerned by the conduct you displayed before and during that fight."

Minh looked up at Nagatake, a guarded look appearing on her features. She said nothing as he continued.

"You did not have to fight. You could have reasoned with them. When Erin testified against those four men, the men were ready to listen. Instead, you pushed for a physical confrontation. You wanted that fight.

"The best masters are not boastful," he went on. "They are humble. They do not cause conflict, they resolve it. Or avoid it altogether.

"Your demonstration of aggression was not in the tradition of budo. You were not supposed to go looking for a fight. That is not why I helped you when you asked me to train your barrack companions."

Minh felt betrayed. Her sense of satisfaction had evaporated. His commendation about her compassion were just empty words to her. They had only served as an introduction to the criticism she now received. The tug to leave this place felt stronger.

"You are well grounded in technique, but you should refrain from showing off. What you need is additional mental maturity. You need to work on your attitude," Nagatake's commendation on her skill was not enough to allay the hurt she felt at the proviso that came after.

"That man was not trained at all," Nagatake continued. "Even with the staff, he did not stand a chance against you. The weapon was only a liability to him."

Minh was resentful and angry. She looked away in an attempt to maintain her composure. It did not occur to her that she was being oversensitive to constructive criticism. Had she stopped to consider the matter, she would have realized that she was being petulant. She had been feeling negative emotions all day as she questioned her own active participation within the clan. Now she had another reason not to remain in captivity. She was unaware that her emotions were more childish than objective. What exactly was she trying to run away from? Why was she running away? Was it really for reasons of duty?

xxXxxxXxx

Keen had been long aware that he had been neglecting Minh's training. His contact with her had been extremely limited due to his duties and blood trial training. His busy schedule had not changed, but he intended to rectify the situation. As bondholder, Minh was his responsibility. On account of of his personal attachment to her, he had kept his distance to maintain a proper warrior's perspective. Minh's naturally remote personality had seemed to act in concert with his conduct.

Keen began to make more time for Minh's indoctrination. Taking her aside, he explained the tradition of the clan. Although silent, she remained attentive to his words. Once he was sure she was well grounded, he took her back to his quarters to use his computer terminal.

He intended to allow her to use it after lunch each day. She was permitted to spend an hour on it before reporting back to the armory in the assembly area. He wanted her to research what he taught her about clan ways and customs.

The computer had been installed in the time since Minh had been in the room last. With a look of uncertainty at first, Minh took the opportunity to learn new words from the dictionary function. She randomly chose words, trying to remember the English terms she had heard. She remembered the terms used during Keen's ceremony. 'Indubitably' was a word she managed to find. It surprised her, since it had been so difficult to spell.

Keen watched her as she explored through the computer terminal. He could see she did not feel comfortable around him. Previously, she had been eager to show him her understanding. Now she was unusually distant. It was as if she were only going through the motions, that she really did not care about what she was doing. This was completely unlike anything he had experienced before.

Through his association with Minh, Keen was beginning to understand the reasoning behind the clan prohibition on marriage. The other castes could indulge in that union. Warriors were forbidden to engage in long term emotional relationships. Such relationships interfered with their primary focus. Combat readiness should be their exclusive objective. Short term trysts, while not actually encouraged, were the established custom. It was thought to take the edge off of any distraction of desire.

At an intellectual level, there was much more to the matter than traditional consideration. The illicit bond of strong personal affiliation vied against a warrior's sworn loyalty to the clan. A warrior put his life on the line for the clan. There was no room in his psyche for doubt and misdirection. A weapon held in a shaky grip was of no use against the target. The same held true for a warrior of unstable reasoning. A warrior who placed his mate before the mission was unreliable. Recognized centuries before, marriage was abolished among warriors.

Marriage was not Keen's goal. Under clan law it could not be. On more than one occasion, Minh had made clear her opposition to having an illegitimate physical relationship. According to her cultural background, a man and woman must be legally joined first. Viewed one way, it would seem that their customs were at cross purposes. It seemed to be proof of the old saying that opposites did indeed attract.

There was no denying that he was attracted to Minh. When he witnessed her duel with Trent, he could not help but feel pride and satisfaction. It was true that she lacked the skill and experience of the Elementals, but she had performed very well. The fact that she had armed her opponent, then defeated him, served to add to his respect for her. It was apparent that she had been training with someone other than his Elementals, judging by the skill she displayed. She seemed to flow with her adversary, not batter against him. He suspected whom it was that had helped her. Far from feeling offended that she sought assistance elsewhere, he admired her all the more for her resourcefulness. Although he was drawn to her physically, it was her inner spirit that held him fast.

He had seen the strike that connected with her head, feeling a momentary twinge of concern for the small woman. It was quickly canceled by her instantaneous recovery. She was the epitome of indomitable spirit.

His feelings bordered on compulsion, threatening to distract him from his training. A warrior could not afford to become emotional. In the heat of battle, distraction was as deadly as the loss of self control. Despite years of intense training, it was still possible for him to lose his edge by permitting himself to have a relationship. That marriage was not involved did not negate the risks. In a way, he could not help but think that the danger was intensified. The affection he had for her was not exactly requited. The entire situation between them was highly irregular. None of his training or life experience had prepared him for what he was feeling for this woman. It was more than a need for momentary pleasure. He did not regard her as a comrade. Could it be a desire for her companionship? According to the letter of the law, he was in abeyance. However, in a sense he was violating the spirit of the law. Having considered the matter long and hard, he had reached a decision. Keen was willing to risk exploring this emotional frontier, undertaking it as a challenge. A highly unusual challenge. That an Elemental would feel affection for another person was a novel concept. That did not normally happen. More to the point, it was not _supposed_ to happen.

When Minh had struck him, he was astonished by his own reaction. Her rage had not distressed him. Instead, he seemed to gain an insight into the woman's thought process. For that brief moment, she had opened up to him after being closed to him. Now she was closed again. He wanted more from her. Not more rage and rancor, but more of Minh. Salen and Stev Ch'in knew that Minh. Even Batiste was communicating in a comfortable manner with her. Initially opposed to any association with the bondswoman, he was proving to be a mentor to her.

Minh was uncomfortable around Keen. He could see that. Her outburst had not cleared the air between them. Instead, it seemed to have drawn battle lines. Keen did not want to extinguish that spark of spirit, but redirect it in harmony with the clan way. He wanted to find a way to relate with her, but it was not her wish to reciprocate. He tried to see the issue from her point of view. It was difficult because he wanted her to understand him. She had demonstrated that capacity to comprehend by associating with the others. Her occasional inability to understand did not detract from her intelligence. She was not that she was dumb, just uninformed. Ignorance was correctable with the application of knowledge.

All Keen had to do was get the girl's attention. A difficult task, but Elementals were not known to shrink from a challenge.

The subject of their fight was never brought up. Minh remained impersonal, not even looking directly at Keen as she accompanied him to his quarters. Having explained his purpose to her, she did not protest being alone with him but she did remain on her guard.

He tried to imprint himself on her during his discussion. When he sat her down to study, he made the attempt to not distract her. He was permitting her to have unsupervised access on the computer. There was not much she could get into, so he was not concerned. He felt his treatment of her was a demonstration of his respect and trust for her as he left her alone in his quarters. No one would bother her in there. As his bondswoman, no one would question her presence.

Minh did not notice immediately when Keen left the room. He was very good at that. She surreptitiously looked around, then deviated from the word processing function. She found the data for the locale around the base she would need for her endeavor. She did not dare print out any of the information. She had not been searched since becoming a bondswoman, but there was always a first time. Instead, she pored over maps and diagrams, memorizing landmarks and other information. She was already acquainted with many parts of the base and part of the town outside of the main gate. The lake was very easy to identify, but the sheer size of it boggled her mind. After several minutes, she reluctantly set aside her research. There would be time enough for her to explore. She did not wish to be caught. What she had read was more than enough to think on for now.

xxXxxxXxx

The Elementals had noticed Minh's subdued manner. They assumed that she was undergoing an emotional let down after riding the emotional high that carried her through the duel.

Minh attended Salen's Trial of Position at the Fort Bivouac Meeting Hall. She sat with Batiste as they watched the giant holovideo display that hovered ghostlike in the air before the seats. Like the other technological advancements, this was not like what she had ever seen before. However, Salen had briefed her on it when she had been present for Keen's trial ceremony.

Minh watched as a humanoid machine marched into view of the camera. She recognized the raised arm posture of the Fire Moth OmniMech. Opposing it were three OmniMechs which were advancing in single file. The two trailing 'Mechs stopped and the one in front moved forward by itself. The Fire Moth stood in an open plain against three 'Mechs that stood before a mountainous backdrop.

Minh began to understand that Salen would be fighting three opponents in the spirit of zellbrigen. It was honorable combat. She would not have to face them all at once. The contest would remain one on one unless she happened to fire on a waiting opponent prior to defeating the combatant before her. With her light weight machine, it was unlikely she would have the endurance to fight all three of the larger machines.

Salen closed on the advancing 'Mech, a forty ton Viper. The Viper fired first, missing with it's laser weapons but hitting with a full flight of short ranged missiles.

"Streak system," Batiste announced. The Fire Moth was wreathed in fire and smoke, but shrugged off the damage as if it were hail. "Serious damage. At least it is spread all over," Batiste continued. Minh agreed. A concentration of damage in one spot could be critical to the 'Mech's survival. As it was, each arm and leg was hit at well as two strikes in the torso area.

The Fire Moth did not falter in it's charge. It fired at point blank range, defeating the Viper with one shot to the head. The powerful azure electric beam identified the weapon as an ER PPC.

After Salen dispatched the Viper, she kept going straight past her other opponents. Minh was surprised by the great speed of the Fire Moth. As it went by them, it deliberately aimed one arm at one of the 'mechs and fired a small energy weapon. The attack was all but worthless. The battle was not desperate enough to justify the attempt. It was not worth the risk for what little damage was inflicted. Minh did not appreciate the tactic, but Batiste made an approving grunt. The opponents had to turn around to pursue. One deliberately held back, actually slowing down. The one that had been fired upon could not fire effectively with the other 'Mech in his firing arc. Salen must have deliberately chosen that path. A formal clan battle tactic had turned one of her enemies into a shield. Salen had been careful not to fire at both opponents at a time. She only had to worry about one opponent. The other one would not engage her until it is was his turn to participate. In firing at the one OmniMech, she had chosen her opponent. Now she was setting up the field for the next battle.

The Fire Moth ran off, opening the range from the other two 'Mechs and gaining cover in foothills and ravines. Salen's second opponent is a sixty five ton Hellbringer. Her Hellbringer. Salen fired from semi-concealment at the approaching 'Mech as it tried to pursue. Minh could only imagine how Salen felt. She was fighting against her own OmniMech.

"Hellbringen," she murmured.

"Zellbrigen," Batiste corrected her. "The Hellbringer is the Omni Salen faces now."

Hellbringer. Zellbrigen. The two words sounded so much alike, it was no wonder Minh confused them. Especially ever since listening to Salen obsess over her Hellbringer.

Apparently, Salen had only two weapons, but her biggest dealt massive damage with each hit. The Hellbringer also had an ER PPC, firing it as much as the Fire Moth. Minh knew those were the heaviest energy weapons made. It took a lot of power to operate them. The ER PPC generated more heat than any of the other weapons in the 'Mech's inventory. By firing it so often, the 'Mechs risked overheating. Speed and efficiency of the OmniMechs should be deteriorating to the point where their fusion engines would shut down. The Fire Moth did not have any room to add heat sinks to help dissipate the heat from the ER PPC it carried. Yet it was firing at every opportunity and appeared to move effectively. The Hellbringer also showed no signs of slowing down.

Minh began to doubt what she was seeing with her own eyes. It was only a holographic image after all. Maybe this was not real. Maybe it was a simulation. These machines could not possibly be so advanced that cooling systems would be doubly efficient. That the clans could improve heat sinks as well as weapons systems seemed too fantastic.

Salen was boxed in a ravine by the Hellbringer. Having cover behind debris that had fallen from the canyon walls, her 'Mech was only vulnerable at the head, torso, and arms. The Hellbringer made a much bigger target as it pursued. It fired the autocannon and ER PPC together, as well as unleashing the medium sized ER lasers as the ranged closed. The ravine walls and rubble surrounding the two OmniMechs took the brunt of the damage. Dust flew and plant scrubs flashed to flame. The simulation looked so realistic, it was just like a holovid.

Then the Hellbringer's Streak Six belched to life and Minh knew the missiles would not miss. They would only fire when they had a solid lock on target. The damage was restricted to the upper portion of the 'Mech, which made the hits that much more effective. Two of the missiles impacted on the head, which had been previously untouched. The one arm was completely shredded of armor and the torso had been penetrated. The Fire Moth rocked back, barely managing to maintain it's stance.

The Hellbringer ambled up to the lighter 'Mech and aimed the autocannon at the head. Almost armless, the smaller 'Mech could only stand there.

The Fire Moth fired, hitting the Hellbringer in the torso. Minh blinked in surprise. She thought that Salen had been disarmed. She had not noticed before, but the ER PPC the Fire Moth carried had been in a side torso, not the arm. The raised arm configuration had confused Minh into thinking an arm had been shooting.

In the next instant, the Hellbringer suffered an explosion, the force of the blast directed out of the back of the stricken 'Mech.

Salen managed to breach armor and cause an ammunition explosion. Minh recalled Salen's explanation of CASE, the Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment that had prevented the total destruction of the 'Mech. Despite that, it lost balance and toppled forward. It appeared to take more damage from the fall and the 'Mech stopped moving.

The third 'Mech was much more cagey, trying to circumvent the field of battle during the duel. It was a seventy five ton Timber Wolf.

The Timber Wolf attacked from the top of the ravine. The elevation rendered the cover for the badly damaged Fire Moth ineffective. Rough terrain and damage to her 'Mech made her an easy target. Nevertheless, the Fire Moth attempted to fight it's way out. The ledge prevented the Timber Wolf from aiming properly at the small 'Mech. It would only take one bad step to send the heavy OmniMech tumbling into the ravine. Salen was equally disadvantaged. She had to turn to shoot at her target while trying to make her way back out of the ravine.

The Fire Moth became sluggish. Batiste commented that the shielding over the fusion engine must have taken damage. As if to confirm his words, the Fire Moth stopped moving. Overheated, the 'Mech had shut down. For a moment, Minh thought that the battle was over. A second later the Timber Wolf fired the coup de grace. An autocannon round sent the small 'Mech into the ravine wall where it crumpled down in a metallic heap.

After Salen's defeat, Minh was surprised by Batiste's humor. He claimed that she was better off now than when she had first gone into the fight. At first, the irony was lost on her. She learned that, although the battle was lost, Salen had won her fight. In defeating two of her three opponents, she became a Star Commander. Instead of being downgraded, she would be promoted.

"It looked so real," Minh murmured, watching the dust settle over the battlefield in the holovid. She glanced up at Batiste and saw him staring down at her. He did not look angry, but he did not look pleased neither.

"That was not a simulation. Simulators are for children," he said. "Only when live fire exercises are impractical do warriors use simulations.

"I do not care for your insinuation that the Trial was fabricated. It casts aspersions on Salen's courage.

"I do not know about you. Sometimes you display qualities that warriors can admire, then you show an attitude like that."

"I meant no disrespect," Minh lowered her head in submission. "I spoke without thinking. I merely meant to say that-." Minh stopped speaking, because she realized she would only be repeating what she said. However, Batiste was waiting for her to finish her thought. She did not know what she could say. Then it occurred to her and she raised her face once more. "I did not understand, but I do now. Thank you for correcting me before I dishonored anyone in public."

Batiste nodded at her without speaking. As the holovid faded from the air, he rose and gestured for Minh to follow.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh found herself at the infirmary with Batiste. There were also some MechWarriors that Minh recognized from Salen's star. The medical staff kept them outside.

Several minutes later a helicopter approached and flared out over a landing pad a hundred meters from the door. A group of medical orderlies left the infirmary as the aircraft touched down. Without a word, Batiste touched Minh's shoulder and followed them. Minh obeyed his unspoken command.

Minh could see there were three patients on the helicopter. As they got closer, Minh amended her thought. Two patients and one blanket shrouded body. A pair of orderlies carried the body on a stretcher. Two other orderlies helped a man walk from the helicopter. He was dressed in a cooling vest, shorts, and boots. He seemed disoriented. Salen was also there, dressed similarly to the other MechWarrior.

Batiste stopped the stretcher bearers. Being closer to the helicopter, Minh could barely hear his command for her to take a look over the whine of the turbine engine and flutter of rotor blades. He reached down and removed the blanket from the head of the dead MechWarrior.

There was not much for Minh to see. The burnt smell was bad enough, but what she saw was worse. The beam of the particle projection cannon had barely missed hitting the man, but it had killed him all the same. She did not dare look away. This was her punishment for daring to disbelieve. It was not the first time she had viewed the dead, but this time it seemed obscene. She had not known this man. It seemed like an invasion of his privacy. Eventually, Batiste replaced the blanket and the stretcher was permitted to resume it's trip.

Salen had stopped to watch the Elemental and bondswoman examine the Viper pilot. Minh's face had taken on a greenish cast of illness. Afterwards she merely stood with unseeing eyes.

"What was that about?" Salen asked. Minh focused on her.

"Batiste holds a grudge," was her noncommittal reply.

"Please come this way," an orderly tried to guide Salen by her arm to the infirmary.

"I am not hurt," Salen tugged away from him. "I was flown here because my 'Mech was shot down."

Minh inspected the dark-haired MechWarrior. Her skin was smudged with soot, dust, and dried perspiration. Apart from her appearance, she looked unharmed.

"I am glad that is over," Salen declared. "With two 'Mechs to my credit, no one will dare doubt my ability now."

"What was that?" it was Adler.

Salen turned her attention to him and looked askance at him.

"You did not finish off the Hellbringer, Salen," Adler said accusingly.

"I am Star Commander Salen to you," she replied archly.

"You are not!" Adler argued. "Dirk's 'Mech was still operational. He could have gotten back up."

"The Hellbringer could have, but not Dirk. He was unconscious," Salen explained. "That is not your concern. If he has a problem with that, he can challenge me again. It is not your place to challenge me. But you better talk to Rad first. He will not appreciate your accusation that he violated zellbrigen."

Minh assumed that Rad must have been the Timber Wolf pilot. After seeing how Batiste responded to her thoughtless comment, she could imagine how Rad would react to Adler's outright accusation. Adler turned on his heel and stalked away.

"I want my Omni back," Salen declared to his departing back. "I want it returned in the same pristine condition that it had been taken." She turned and looked at Minh and Batiste.

"You gave a good fight," Batiste complimented her, giving Minh a sidelong reproving look.

Minh wanted to agree, but the toll and circumstances seemed morally repulsive. One man was dead and another had been badly injured. Salen herself could have been killed. There had been so much destruction for what was only a mere test.

"Minh has demonstrated to me that small is not necessarily inferior," Salen boasted.

"You were very effective in your tactical use of a twenty ton 'Mech," Batiste said respectfully. "In closing with your first opponent, you took advantage of your primary weapon accuracy. Your high speed kept your opponents inaccurate at close range. You fought like an Elemental. A clean kill."

"Coming from you, that is high praise indeed," Salen responded with solemn grace. Elementals preferred close combat. If an Elemental had piloted her Fire Moth, that would have been the method employed. MechWarriors normally stood off, preferring to use their superior range when possible. She remembered that she had opened the range again after that first victory. The long range sniping could have become a battle of attrition. Semi-concealment in the ravine had helped preserve her 'Mech. She remembered when she had fought against the Demolishers. Against Minh. They had hidden behind berms, exposing only their turrets to her fire. Even though they had lost their fight against the clan incursion, that tactic had preserved them long enough to inflict crippling damage against two OmniMechs.

Despite the pleasure she felt at her victory, she was not completely satisfied with her own performance. She felt that it had been the loss of shielding over her fusion engine that caused her defeat. The constant firing of her PPC caused her 'Mech to overheat and shut down. When she had become a sitting target, that was her true defeat. She felt she could have done something differently to succeed against the Timber Wolf. She could not have moderated her firing rate. That had kept Rad from closing too quickly against her.

Though she had not practiced with the Fire Moth, that did not mean that she was unable to pilot it successfully. She had fooled her opponents into false confidence with her feigned petulance. That was another legacy of her association with Minh. The small woman had proven to be very unpredictable. There were times that Salen could not imagine what the bondswoman was thinking. She still could not understand her estrangement with Keen. Somehow she was on Batiste's bad side as well.

Minh had been horrified by the savagery of the trial. She had not expected it to be lethal. Batiste's comment on Salen's clean kill of the first opponent further alienated Minh. It was only a test. The opponents had been Salen's countrymen. They were supposed to be on the same side. If something like this had occurred in the Draconis Combine, it would be called an accident. Or treachery.

"This is how we maintain our superior skill," Batiste instructed Minh. She looked up at him and realized that she did not know these people. The perception she had developed of them was proving to be very inaccurate. They had a casual disregard for life. Their willingness to kill each other, then walk away without a hint of remorse proved it.

What she had witnessed was a classic case of 'Might makes right'. The sole purpose of the duel was to make a point. Salen had proven her worthiness to be a combatant. No, to be a leader.

_I have to get out of here_, Minh silently quailed to herself.

xxXxxxXxx

One of Minh's escape plans involved stowing away on a DropShip. She vetoed the idea. There was no guarantee that the JumpShip she boarded would go where she wanted. It would not likely return her to the Draconis Combine. She could just as easily be transported to another clan world, or worse, the Lyran region of the Federated Commonwealth. The Lyrans and the Draconis Combine had long been in opposition to each other. It was unlikely she would make it that far. Her chances of being discovered as a stowaway were very good. She could either be confined with little chance of escape or spaced outright from an airlock.

It would be very difficult to remain concealed. She would have to eat and drink. Depending on how close the crew monitored life support, her air consumption could give her away. She was too distinctive to pose as a crew member. She had no specialized skills and the crews were too small for her to blend in. She had many ideas as a saboteur, for which success would not require her survival, but none of those plans would facilitate her escape.

Then there was the problems of the hyper jumps. There would be no way she could conceal herself while she was being violently ill. Planning her escape was proving more difficult that she thought.

xxXxxxXxx

Erin and Fal continued their private lessons under Minh's tutelage. Fal teased Erin about visits from Trent. He had come by to reassure her that there would be no more unauthorized visits by the men. If there was any trouble, he wanted to know and he would put a stop to it. Erin was sweetly defensive.

Minh did not think Erin's budding friendship with Trent was any of her business. She said nothing, but she had a cautious approval. Trent had been reasonable with the women once he was over his outrage. As long as his contact with Erin was genuine, as opposed to being a ploy for the women to drop their guard, she supposed it was a good thing. If it fostered cooperation and respect between the two factions of genders, the women could not have to worry about further trouble.

As for trouble, Henna did not know about the lessons. It was not that the three women were being disobedient. Erin was an astech, but she did not work for Henna, who was a tech. Minh worked for the Elementals and was not affected by Henna's restriction. Fal, a bondswoman who did work for Henna, did not have a problem. As long as she performed her tasks and was not absent from her duties, what she did on her own time was her business. Since the classes were being held outside of the barracks, they were out of Henna's jurisdiction.

Minh wanted to continue their classes to make up for her absence later. She was afraid that delinquent men could resume their predatory abuse. Although she felt she could trust Trent, there was still the problem of the women defending themselves until he could intervene.

The training also built self confidence. Minh wanted them to be able to stand up for themselves.

xxXxxxXxx

In the following days, Minh revised her escape plan after each session on the computer. There had been only so much information she would glean from what was available to her. She lacked the security clearances to access anything useful. As she perused the database, she contemplated what she had been doing. She was involved in communication. She thought about that concept. She did not have to physically leave Strana Mechty in order to get word to the Draconis Combine. There had to be a hyperpulse generator on the planet. Perhaps she could use it to send a message. If she could somehow find out where Strana Mechty was on a star chart, she could send the coordinates. Then the Draconis Combine could return the favor of an armed visit to a clan home world. Unfortunately, her plan proved to be much too ambitious.

Her idea to use a hyperpulse communication system was too unworkable. She had never seen what the equipment looked like, much less understood how it operated. She did not know what commands or passwords to input into the governing computer. Was there such a computer? How many people did it take to operate a device capable of sending a message over distances measuring lightyears? She remembered her first experience with the Wolf Clan diesel powered truck. Initially it seemed more complicated than the truck she grew up with at home. It's operation was actually much simpler, once Batiste explained it to her. As for the hyperpulse generator, she had discovered only scraps of information. For example, to send a message, the antennae had to be aimed at another hyperpulse antennae. That would require coordinates that she did not have. But that was only part of the problem.

How would she get access to the pulse generator? For that matter, how was the generator powered? Was the antennae on the same power circuit? If she managed to get control of the antennae, would she be able to use it? What if someone wanted to stop her from using it. Did the antennae use a self contained power source, or could the power line be cut? Would the clan dare to fire on the dish itself and risk it's destruction?

Minh shivered at that thought. To attack a hyperpulse generator was unthinkable. The venerable technology that embodied it was irreplaceable. To even interfere with the caretakers of that equipment was to risk interdiction from Comstar. Without access to rapid message exchange, planets would quickly become disorganized. Those heavy with industrialized populations would be unable to coordinate with their agrarian sources. Agrarian planets using advanced technological applications could find themselves impeded by the lack of simple repair parts. Piracy, invasion, and medical emergencies could rage unchecked without the ability to send distress signals.

On a whim, she tried to find Comstar on the database, but she could not find it. That did not make any sense. Comstar was the sole operator of the hyperpulse communication system. So vast, it was a government unto itself. Why were there references to hyperpulse generators but none of Comstar? Did that mean that the renegade society into which she had been captured did not require the services of Comstar?

If the clan were in command of the hyperpulse system, Minh was unlikely to convince it's operators to send her message. She did not have the resources to put anyone under duress. Despite the time she spent with the Elementals, they did not trust her alone with the weapons. There was no way she could steal one and get away with it. Anton would blow her away if she were foolish enough to try it during shooting practice.

She recognized that she was fanatical enough to seriously consider dire measures. She was not afraid of dying. She just did not want to die for no gain. The thought of giving her life for House Kurita was not new to her. She had done it on the battlefield, but Keen had reprieved her. It was the second time she came close to ending her life that made her uneasy. It was a demonstration that she was willing to offer her all. The only reason for her continued existence was that Keen had thwarted that attempt. In a way, she felt she had been cheated.

It was a matter that was still unresolved in her mind. She had failed to prevent the clan from invading her planet. That she lived in captivity was a violation of her oath of allegiance to the coordinator. Her continued survival was unimportant as long as she could complete an objective against Clan Wolf. If she could think of any plan that could offer any hope of success, she was willing to take the risk. But to throw her life away for no real effect would be a completely worthless effort.

She returned to her initial search, hoping that she had missed something, but it was in vain. There were no coordinates to be found at all. Not for Strana Mechty, not for any other star system. Even if she knew where she was in the universe, she still would not be able to send a message. No one would leave information like that lying around. No one would even have a reason to leave critical information pertinent to her plan. Only in pulp adventures did that happen.

This was real life. What she _wanted_ to do and what she _could_ do were two different things. If she was unable to communicate with her home worlds, then what could she do?

Minh began to grow depressed. It seemed that the more she learned, the less information she had to work with. She lacked the resources and the means to accomplish anything. Every plan she thought up was just too ambitious for her capability.

She had been unrealistic in her expectations. Instead of trying to devise complicated plans that would require information she did not have, she settled for a simpler goal. Having been too willing to be of use to the clan, the object would be to deny the clans her service.

xxXxxxXxx

Vera saw Minh going to her barracks one morning. The small woman was clad in leotard and shorts. Her slender arms and legs shone with perspiration. Vera remained on the other side of a group of techs to conceal herself. As the little bondswoman headed up the stairs of her barracks, Vera managed to slip around the corner of an adjacent barracks.

She remembered when she first laid eyes on that underfed skinny runt. The little witch thought she was better than everyone else, exhibiting a superiority that enraged Vera. She was still a skinny runt, but now she had a sleekness to her.

She hated the thought of hiding from someone as small as Minh. What made it worse was the thought of encountering her in a public area. If Vera were to be thrashed in front of others, it would spoil her plans.

Vera had teamed up with Ellit. He was not the type of individual she would choose as her confederate. Ellit lacked the toughness and ferociousness to be a leader of the pack Vera wanted to assemble. Aside from that, he was useful in his own way. Not only did he know his way around the base, he also knew how things operated.

As an unimposing man, no one would be afraid of crossing him. He was unable to intimidate and manipulate others. Vera, on the other hand, was used to being the enforcer among the women. There were several men she had been able to intimidate, as well, but Nagatake had not been one of them. He had been assigned as bondsman in charge over the bondswomen on the ship. He was not afraid of her, much like that nasty little Minh. Now that Vera was no longer under his personal supervision, she was able to concentrate on rebuilding her power base. That was the reason she could not face Minh, not yet.

Under other circumstances, Vera could use a person like Minh in the pack. With her speed and apparent fearlessness, she would have made an excellent enforcer. It was that same fearlessness that made her unsuitable. She showed no respect for Vera as a leader. She was not unimpressed at all. It was difficult to manipulate someone like that.

So far it was just the two of them in the gang. Their poor reputations had kept them apart from the rest of their so called peers. That would change once Minh was eliminated. The others would fall into line with the establishment of Vera's supremacy.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh remained cool and distant around her friends. Friends? Captors would be a more descriptive term. Regarding her thoughtless indiscretion at the meeting hall, Batiste had finally let it go. No more mention was made of warrior courage.

Minh's target shooting seemed to take on a sinister significance. It no longer seemed to be a drill in hand and eye coordination. The variety of weapons available to the Elemental point surpassed what she had seen in her old militia company. They were very well armed. With the training she had been furnished thus far, she knew they were able to use them to full potential. With these new thoughts in her mind, she remained her quiet self in their company. The Elementals did not normally include her in their conversation, so that was not unusual in itself. It was a circumstance that she found satisfactory.

Unfortunately, it was a different environment in the barracks. Minh had not gotten very close to anyone. The women did not have any reason to associate with the aloof bondswoman. However, there were two exceptions. Fal had decided that Minh was her friend, ever since Minh had allowed her to participate in pole arm training. She had noticed the Elementals watching the duel. Curious about them, she talked to Minh about her relationship with them. Minh was less than enthused by the topic. Erin had continued to idolize Minh. Her open admiration for the small woman was unsettling. Hero worship was not flattering to Minh because she did not feel like a hero. Erin emulated her heroine by washing herself at both the beginning and the end of the day. That in itself did not bother Minh. It was good hygiene. What had made matters worse was that Erin had cut her hair in a style similar to Minh's. The mocking glances from the other women demonstrated the folly of imitation.

Minh's desire to get out of the clan became a mantra in her own mind.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen had been concerned about Minh's change in demeanor since Keen's trial. The young woman was never far from her mind these days. That was because the bondswoman had become a popular topic of the warriors. Ever since she had challenged and defeated an armed tech, there had been debates on her actual worth. The point of contention was that she had only fought a tech, not a warrior. With the training she had received, a noncombatant tech was not a true measure of her skill. Nevertheless, Salen wished she had seen that contest. Whatever the reason was for that duel, it had not improved Minh's disposition. She was still quiet and moody.

On a whim, for want of a better idea, she took the bondswoman out to dinner like she had before. It was her hope to restore the bondswoman's attitude. The trip off base seemed to have perked her spirits up. She seemed to become keyed up. She displayed a genuine interest in her surroundings as she looked around. Her conversational skills were below her usual standard. She seemed distracted, answering only after several moments of silence. It was as if she were preoccupied with other matters. At no time did she initiate dialogue.

At the restaurant, Minh ate her meal ravenously. Not knowing when her next meal would be, she took shameless advantage of Salen's hospitality. Afterwards, she went in back to freshen up.

That was when she escaped.

Salen stormed back onto the base. Using the communication station at the main gate, she contacted Keen and gave him the news.

"She ducked out on me! She went to wash her hands and did not come back. She has not returned to the base. The gate guard has not seen her."

"By 'her' you mean Minh, quaff?"

"Who else would I mean?" Salen snapped.

Keen was not being obtuse. He was putting his thoughts in order. He had not expected Minh to do anything so foolish. There was no way she could sneak aboard a DropShip. Even if she did, she would be apprehended by the time the DropShip docked with the JumpShip. Stowing away was next to impossible without assistance from the crew.

"She cannot seriously expect to get off this planet!" Salen railed, her thoughts obviously mirroring Keen's.

"Where did you see her last?" Keen asked.

"Blue Cafe," Salen said. "There are many ways from that back door. Nobody saw her leave."

"I will report this to the star colonel," Keen announced. "He will probably want to talk to you."

"I am on my way, Point Commander," Salen said trenchantly, reminding him that it was not his place to command a superior officer, no matter how obliquely phrased.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen and Keen stood at attention before Star Colonel Quint DeVega in his office. The star colonel had been seated at his desk when they had presented themselves to him. Now he was on his feet, pacing behind them. Having a hostile man behind her gave Salen an itchy feeling between her shoulder blades. For a moment, she envied Keen's brawn. Standing side by side, she would only see him in the corner of her eye. He gave no sign that Quint's intimidating tactic bothered him.

"This is your fault, Keen," Quint said angrily. "What you were doing with that bondswoman was highly irregular. She is completely undisciplined and untrustworthy. I understand she conducted a riot in her barracks."

"I was there," Keen said. "There was no riot."

"Be that as it may, this latest escapade demonstrates a lack of supervision on your part," Quint said.

"Aff, Star Colonel," despite the acknowledging words, there was no contrition in Keen's tone.

"The Bondswoman Minh has proven that she is a danger to the clan," Quint said. "She cannot be permitted to use those skills you have bestowed upon her.

"I have already placed the base on alert. The ammunition depot and assembly areas are locked down. The motor pool and 'Mech bays, too."

Salen almost choked on the glorified name for the 'Mech sheds.

"Point Commander Keen, you will mobilize your point. You will arm your battle armor with flamers. You will hunt her-."

"You cannot be serious!" Salen burst out.

"I am most serious, Star Commander," Quint turned on her. "If you had kept your eye on her, we would not have to do this now."

"What are your orders? Shoot on sight?" Salen demanded.

"Those are my orders exactly," Quint nodded. "Since your Hellbringer has not been repaired yet, you will pilot my machine. The short range missile launchers have been loaded with inferno rounds."

"That is insane!" Salen said through clenched teeth.

"You will patrol the space port. If the Bondswoman Minh should go there, you will shoot. She must not be allowed to reach the ships," Quint ordered. "Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," Keen acknowledged grimly. Salen refused to speak, but Quint did not care. He pointed to his office door. The two warriors obediently left.

"Point Commander!"

Keen paused. Quint motioned for him to return. Salen watched as Keen listened to Quint, then the star colonel dismissed the Elemental again. When Keen rejoined Salen, she saw that his features had become very foreboding.

"You will be commanding my point," he said. "I have a new assignment."

"What can be more important than hunting for Minh with extreme prejudice?" Salen demanded sarcastically.

"It occurs to the star colonel that Minh is not the only insurgent he has to worry about. He wants to remove all personnel formerly of the Draconis Combine. He suspects that they may harbor escape tendencies also."

"What?"

"I am ordered to apprehend and execute Nagatake."

xxXxxxXxx

Cold reality had replaced the heady euphoria of Minh's escape. She thought she might have blown it when she thanked Salen for the meal. Salen had not been suspicious when Minh left the table at the restaurant. She bade Minh not to be too long. She did not want to be caught out in the rain.

It bothered her to have taken advantage of the MechWarrior's friendship like that and then leave. It was obvious that the woman had been trying to be nice to her all afternoon. Far from being satisfying, the food in her belly felt like a lead weight. It sat heavy in her gut.

Slipping her hand out of the closed loop of the bond cord, she casually walked along the back street. She was careful to avoid walking on the main street. The inhabitants might have remembered her from her last visit. Her jumpsuit stood out in the residential district. She raided a laundry line that was outside of a tenement window. She took what seemed to be in her size, a boy's work clothing. Hiding around a secluded corner, she changed her clothes.

She paused as she held the bond cord in her hand, debating to herself whether to keep it or not. It was too short to be of any use for anything. On the other hand, if someone were to find it on her person, there would be no doubt who she was. She decided the prudent thing to do would be to discard it. While there was no one in sight, she buried the coveralls and the bond cord in separate trash disposal containers. She hoped that if anyone found them, they would not link them to her. The less her pursuers knew about her plans, the less likely they would be to find her.

With renewed purpose, she continued with her escape. Following a route memorized from the computer database, she made her way to the warehouse loading area. These streets were busy with commuters on foot, much like herself. To the others, she appeared to be just another young person. She passed a team of peacekeepers. She did not recognize any of the warriors. They paid no attention to her.

Minh arrived at an intersection where the buildings opened up to a parking area. At the far side she could see the road that passed by outside of the town, the one that led to the base. On her side of the paved parking lot was a narrow town street that led from the intersection to a large warehouse complex. This was the local distribution point. Food and other supplies were organized and distributed to the town, the base, and other work sites.

There were two tractor trucks parked with their trailers backed up to warehouse docks. A third truck had just departed, heading away from the base. It would seem that most of the workers had already been sent away. While the remaining dock workers were locking down their warehouses, the truck drivers rolled down the back doors of their trailers. The trucks were parked almost side by side, a space the width of a truck between them. The drivers were talking to each other as they went down to their trucks. They scarcely noticed Minh as they tramped down the stairs at the end of the dock.

Minh kept walking toward the warehouse. The drivers paused in front of their trucks, engrossed in their conversation. There was no one else around to pay attention as Minh carefully stole up the dock stairs. The drivers could not see her from where they stood. With the warehouse closed, no one could see her. She went to the nearest trailer and slowly rolled it's door up a little way. She slid underneath and quietly let the door back down. It bothered her that the latch that secured the door was on the outside. She hoped that no one would come by and notice that the door latch was not fastened. She did not want to be trapped in the trailer.

With the door closed, it was not dark in the trailer. The ceiling was translucent, letting in the light of dusk. Eventually, it would become dark. Walking lightly, Minh looked for a spot to make herself comfortable. It was dirty. Scraps of cartons and packing material were scattered on the floor. At the front of the trailer were pallets strapped together in stacks. They were tied down with cargo netting and cables stretched from wall to wall. She had only gone part way forward in the trailer when the floor creaked beneath her feet. She quickly stopped moving and listened for the talking drivers.

She could not hear them. Had they heard her? Would they investigate the noise she had made? She heard the slamming of a door. It was possible that the driver had gotten a weapon and was now on his way to the trailer.

When the truck started it's diesel engine, she gave a quiet sigh of relief to herself. She walked the rest of the way to the pallets and sat down with her back against the side of the trailer. She did not know where the truck would be going or how long it would take to get there. Would it go to a truck depot? Would it return the pallets and take on more cargo?

At that moment, a memory occurred to her. She had been so intent on fulfilling her duty to the women in the barracks that she had forgotten her promise to Cook. In return for his kindness, she was supposed to give him Elemental cooking tips.

She was in the middle of an escape and she was worried about breaking a promise!

As the absurdity of the thought struck her, she covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. She doubted that the driver could hear her, but she did not want to take chances now.

As the truck began to move, a rattling sound from overhead caught her attention. Heavy drops of water were hitting the roof. The rain that Salen had wanted to avoid had arrived.

xxXxxxXxx

It had been days since Minh had disappeared. Vera wondered if Ellit had compromised their plans somehow. Ellit denied it, but Vera did not believe him. She had threatened his welfare, telling him that if she were to find out that he had talked, she would 'take care of him'. Ellit had seen what Vera was willing to do and he did not want to be on the receiving end of her abuse. She had begun a little campaign by leaning on the cooks in the technician's dining facility. Using information that Ellit had furnished, she had been able to extort special service from the kitchen. She had also been able to intimidate one of the vehicle mechanics in the motor pool. The mechanic did not have the authority to let them have a truck, but she was able to put Vera in contact with other people with alternate resources. They were willing to do favors for a price, but she did not have anything to pay them. Vera was now figuring out how she could influence them. Ellit had suggested giving one of them a stake in their organization, but she did not want to share control of the gang with anyone.

They were starting to do quite well for themselves. That was why Ellit would not abandon Vera. Greed kept him from letting her craziness drive him away, despite the doubts he had about their arrangement. They had started out as partners, but he found he had become subordinate to her. He wanted to protest, but he was afraid to confront her about it. He would stick it out as long as it continued to pay off. It was also a matter of pride. He would not run like that cowardly Minh.

They were using a warehouse as a base of operations. It was okay for the moment, since it was not scheduled for use in the foreseeable future. However, they would have to move. They would have to recruit someone to help them find a better, more permanent place. Someone with access to record keeping who could change their work assignments. They needed to cover up their activities. They needed to make what they were doing appear to be something else. Something that would be above suspicion.

Like the other old warehouses, theirs did not have power. Overrun by mammalian vermin, the premises were too dangerous at night. Lighting would solve that hazard. For that, they needed a portable generator. Portable because they would eventually be moving. It would be best if they were able to get a fusion power plant. That would eliminate the noise of a diesel generator. It would also eliminate the need to constantly supply it with fuel. Of course, without a winch truck with the capacity to carry a half-ton fusion plant, their plans were only empty pipe dreams.

In other words, they were back where they started.

Vera had put together a wish list. They would need a mechanic, one with access to the appropriate vehicle. She dared not approach anyone in positions of authority. They already had more privileges than she could offer in favors. They were also immune to threats.

Ellit was working on finding that mechanic. Meanwhile, he could pick locks to get the other things they needed. He also had ideas that Vera found useful.

With Minh out of the way, they proceeded to satisfy their greed. In the meantime, Vera would think of another plan to deal with Katya. Their old plan had hinged on Minh's participation and thus would not work. Katya was going to learn that no one betrayed Vera.

Site of the former Provost Militia Training Base, Demeter

Across the border from the Free Rasalhague Republic, Draconis Combine

30 March 3051

Thanh Luong sat on a metal chair, one of many arranged in neat rows on freshly cut grass. White canvas was stretched overhead to keep the sun off of the attending mourners. Facing them in front was a podium stationed before a monument draped with another white canvas. A single black ribbon held it in place. The memorial was due to start soon and people were still taking their seats.

It all began in Little Anaheim, the farming community where the Tran family lived. The central issue was the memorial to be held for Minh's militia company in Provost. Dinh Tran had wanted to go to the memorial, but lacked the heart to go alone. He would not go without his wife. Perceiving that she was being manipulated, Xuyen Tran refused. In addition, by attending the memorial, it would make Minh's death real. Xuyen was in denial. She did not want to accept that her daughter was gone. She also afraid that the same thing could happen to her son. She could not face the memorial with the fear that there could be one for her son. So she and her husband had argued. Her point was that Dinh had done nothing to stop both of her children from leaving home. His position was they had no control over the future of their offspring. In short, she needed resolution and he refused to take responsibility. In need of respite, Xuyen went to live with her brother, Thanh Luong, for a while. It was during this sabbatical he learned of his brother-in-law's futile search for Minh. He also heard about the images provided by the sole survivor of the militia company. This was how Thanh had found out about invitation to the dedication and memorial. Thanh asked if he could go in their stead if necessary.

Thanh went to the memorial service. Sitting with other relatives of the slain soldiers, he pondered what had happened to the fallen. Most of the militia were represented. The widow of Go-cho Brenner was absent. At the time of his death, the two had been newlyweds. As for the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery, only Tai-i Tsubaki's widow and two young daughters attended. All of the DCMS regulars had been from off the planet. Their families did not have the funds or perhaps the desire to undertake interstellar travel. The DCMS had transported the Tai-i's family across the universe for the ceremony, since he had been the commanding officer.

The latest news involved Brenner. Recently, one of his boots had been found. His name tag had been tied to the laces. That was a common practice among tank crews. Apparently, after a vehicle explosion, only boots were likely to be found. The violence of the blast had to be powerful indeed to be able to remove a laced up boot without causing it to become untied.

Fragments of tissue had also been found and matched by DNA. Trace amounts of high explosive residue confirmed that Brenner had died in a catastrophic explosion. Brenner had been in Minh's tank crew, so it was determined that she had been killed at the same time. It was assumed that Minh's remains were still in the tank when it was salvaged. Only a scrap of it's blasted armor remained on the battlefield.

A series of tables were arrayed behind the canvas-covered monument. Arranged neatly on the tables were urns that were vaguely egg shaped in appearance, with flat tops and bottoms. Containing the cremated remains of the company, most of the urns were copper colored, but some were silver. The silver vessels were those of officers, the rest being enlisted men and women.

Some urns were empty, save for a piece of the battlefield. Apart from Minh and Tai-i Tsubaki, there were few other MIAs. They were all from tanks and hover transports, assumed to have been completely destroyed with their vehicles, their survival unlikely. Minh was represented by a fragment of the shattered armor left behind from her tank. Since nothing remained of Minh, it was as if she had never existed. Completely erased. That was why a piece of armor was deemed appropriate as a burial substitute.

Thanh pondered the lump of armor inside the pot. That piece was all that was left to show for his niece's eighteen years of life. If that had been all that was left of his son, perhaps he too would be crazy with grief like his sister. His wife, Kim Vanh, had remained in New Kanto. It distressed him to think that his wife would suffer in a like manner.

Because of Minh's missing in action status, Thanh had been given an MIA bracelet when he had first arrived for the memorial. On it was written three lines of text.

Gun-so M Tran.

Demolisher Go-Four.

30 September 3050.

This information conveyed her name and rank, the call sign of her tank, and the date she was lost. The bracelet was made from a single piece of malleable metal. Seeing other mourners wearing them on their wrists, he had done the same. He applied a little bending pressure to make the metal band remain on his arm without falling off.

For a moment, Thanh imagined that it had been his son Nhat who had been lost in combat. He would never see him again. Overcome with grief. He dabbed at the dampness that had surfaced in his eyes. Realization returned and he felt guilty at the relief that it was not his son that was gone. He looked around self-consciously, finding that a woman had noticed his embarrassing display of emotion. Her sad smile conveyed sympathy and he nodded in acknowledgement.

The ceremony began with the Administrator of Demeter welcoming the assembled family and friends at this sorrowful time. A procession of men spoke on behalf of the departed company. Their voices were carried easily by the loud speaker system.

The company had been commended for drawing the enemy away from the populated area and preventing the loss of civilian life. The militia had done the job they had been trained to do, to protect the population from harm. Thanh noted that no mention was made of the temporary clan occupation of Provost and the other landing sites on Demeter.

The unveiling of the monument was performed in a somber manner. One person solemnly unwrapped the black ribbon, carefully coiling it on itself as he did so. Then two others slowly pulled the canvas down the back, the front of it rising over the top before falling away. The monument had the names of the slain carved into the face. They were listed in roster order by platoon and vehicle assignments. Thanh was not close enough to read the names, but he could see that the black lettering contrasted with the white stone. The man at the podium, a Provost town official, explained the significance of the large stone. The black writing carved into the surface was symbolic of their bleak sacrifice. The white stood for their clean honor.

White had another meaning in rituals like this: death.

Uniformed representatives from the DCMS, a tai-sa and a sho-sa, colonel and major respectively, presented Tsubaki's widow with the unit pennant and Combine colors. Seated in the front row, she accepted the neatly folded flags with the composed dignity of an officer's lady. Her two daughters, neither one more than ten years old, sat together to one side of her. They did not fidget like other children would when forced to sit through a long ceremony like this. Thanh did not marvel as much as pity them. If his own sister was crazy with grief, how much more tragic was it for these little ones? Their father did not die alone. There were other fathers, sons, daughters, mothers. Even betrothed.

Thanh imagined their last moments. As it was unbidden, he could not bear thinking about it. All the thoughts did was torture him, making him feel guilty that his own son was safe at home. He knew it was unreasonable to feel that way. Compared to the tragedy that had befallen the company, his own troubled reflections were immaterial.

It was announced that the DCMS officers would be escorting the cremated regular Combine soldiers back to Luthien, the capital of the Draconis Combine. From there they would be shipped to their home planets.

Many of the domestic militia remains would be laid to rest in the next few days, here in the newly established Provost Memorial Cemetery. Some of the militia members would be returned to their home elsewhere on Demeter. What was left of Brenner, recently recovered, awaited disposition. It was unknown what his widow wished. Since she was off planet, a message had been sent and her answer had yet to return.

The man who had begun the ceremony had returned to the podium. He called for a minute of silence. During that time, a line of riflemen formed up facing away from the assembly. At the end of the minute, the man directed his final words to the officer in charge of the riflemen.

"You may begin," he said.

The officer's voice could barely be heard by those seated. Thanh could not understand his commands, but he could see the results as the men responded. They brought their rifle butts to their shoulders, the barrels of the weapons elevated to about thirty degrees above horizontal zero. They fired a synchronized volley on command. A salute for the fallen, they fired three times. Thanh wondered at proper nomenclature for the soldiers. Firing squad?

By the end of the service, Thanh was still ashamed that he was thankful that it was Minh and not his son who was dead. The guilt made him want to know who she was. He barely remembered the small, quiet girl who remained in the background. The few times her family visited his, her mother always sent her to help in the kitchen or wherever. The girl had been treated more like a housemaid than a daughter. That was very common in their society, but he wanted to know why his grief stricken sister was wracked with guilt.

Looking down at the bracelet he wore, Thanh felt that there had been more to Minh than the quiet and unassuming girl he did not know. What was a person like that doing in the militia? Someone like that did not belong fighting in a tank. The proof of that premise was that she died in a tank.

He had noticed a young man hanging back from the assembled mourners. Many of the people had given him rude, accusing glares. One of the whispers that Thanh had overheard: "He did not show up to fight. Why is he here now?" This was the company clerk who had escaped capture and whom Minh's father had met.

As soon as the ceremony was over, Thanh found him. The man had retrieved a bicycle and was wheeling it to the side of the road when Thanh stopped him. The young man looked like he expected to be kicked. Thanh introduced himself, asking if the man had been in the militia. The man nodded cautiously. Showing him the bracelet with Minh's name, he asked if he knew her.

"Ah, Gun-so Tran! Yes, she was a good soldier."

"She was my niece. If you have some time, I would like to talk about her."

Feeling comfortable, the man introduced himself as James Everly.

As the two talked, James explained that he would feel better once the day was done. Many mourners at the memorial were not from the township of Provost. With the end of the memorial, they would be departing the township. That was why James Everly was able to stand remaining in Provost. It was his home town.

Thanh learned that James had written a book, but was waiting for the memorial to finish it. He let Thanh read it on library database. What little Thanh read convinced him it is very well written. Most of it centered on the Provost militia. The rest involved the militia on the rest of the planet. Thanh was able to provide an extra bit of information. One of the MechWarriors lost had been betrothed to Minh.

James was familiar with the story of his battle. According to eyewitness accounts, the MechWarrior had piloted a scout-sized BattleMech, a Panther. He had fired on two larger 'Mechs, enticing them to attack him. His own 'Mech had been badly damaged by the time he managed to lead them into a hangar. Upon orders urgently transmitted just prior to his battle, refueling trucks had been parked inside. It was thought that he intended to decoy his quarry inside and trigger the trap from outside of the hangar. Instead, he fired the trucks from point blank range, destroying all three of them together. It was obvious he had no hope of victory.

As for his own story, James kept silent. He had to pay the township of Provost back for the loss of his rifle and ammunition load. It was not a combat related loss, since he had "misplaced" it. With what little money he made as an assistant librarian, it would be a long time before he was able to work it off. He knew he was a scapegoat. On reflection, he understood the logic of the action. He did not approve of it, but he understood it. The clan attackers were not available to take their retribution, to it fell to James to accept the accountability. Because of the shame he felt for what had been labeled a cowardly action, he said nothing about that to Thanh.

Little Anaheim, Demeter

Across the border from the Free Rasalhague Republic, Draconis Combine

30 March 3051

Xuyen Tran had since returned home to Little Anaheim when Thanh had left for the memorial. He had asked to go in her stead. She had felt betrayed by him. Her answer had been a gesture that conveyed neither assent nor refusal.

Minh's life insurance had paid off a month ago. It was not very much. Xuyen added it to Minh's education fund to make it a scholarship fund. Xuyen had the idea of creating an educational grant for socially disadvantaged young women. The only stipulation was that they abstain from military service.

Despite her positive act of philanthropy, she had descended into dark depression once more. Despairing from her own personal loss, it was not enough to provide for the hopes of others. The ordeal had not ended, but was merely prolonged. Her remaining child had left her. She feared she would never see her son Huy again. She had made it clear to her husband Dinh that she would never forgive him if anything happened to Huy. He had made it too easy for Huy to leave home. Seeing her nephew, Thanh's son, had only made her feel worse on her visit to her brother in New Kanto. The only bright spot in her life was Tai Nguyen, her son's fiancee.

Xuyen had begun staying upstairs, sitting in a rocking chair in the dark sewing room. Sometimes she would come down a few minutes after Tai's arrival. At other times it would be hours before she showed herself. In the meantime, Tai would work with the household help, being the daughter Xuyen no longer had. Tai was a comfort to Xuyen. She would visit and help around the house.

Tai never knew Minh, just as Minh never knew her or her family. Minh had never so much as laid eyes on her brother before refusing marriage. Tai did not like Minh because she had spurned her brother. It was bad form to think ill of the dead, but she could not help herself. She had adored her brother and could not imagine anyone not feeling the same way about him.

Tai felt Minh had been inconsiderate toward Xuyen. She had abandoned her loving mother, a mother who still pined for her lost daughter. It was a double burden, since her son was away to avenge Minh's loss. If Minh had only stayed home where she belonged, this sad situation would not exist. Poor Xuyen would not be suffering so much.

At least Tai's brother had died a hero, a MechWarrior. Minh had only died in ignominy.

In a way, her loss had saved on confusion. Had Minh remained at home and married her brother, she would now be a widow. Would there have been time for promulgation? If the issue were male, the family line would have been secure. Should a daughter have resulted from the doomed pairing, the marriage would have been pointless. The Nguyens already had a daughter, so a granddaughter would not have been an improvement. Neither of them would be able to continue the family name. Tai had always been practical that way. That was why she was willing to become affianced to Huy Tran. It would be years before she could become legally eligible to be his bride. That was plenty of time for something to go wrong. She could not understand why Huy chose to risk throwing his life and their future away. If he should perish before they could wed, all hope of an alliance between the Nguyens and the Trans would be dashed. It was appalling that her own parents had approved of his action.

Huy was on the capital world of the Draconis Combine, deep in the heart of the Pesht Military District. Surely the enemy would not dare to attack the most protected planet of the combine systems.

_Huy will be safe in Luthien_, Xuyen thought.


	9. Chapter 8

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Eight by D G Palmer

Quiet Springs Farming Trust

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

20 April 3051

There was a creaking noise in the other room. Minh instantly came awake in the early morning darkness. Slipping from under the blanket, she silently removed herself from the rickety old cot. Her slender body was covered with a simple gown, sleeveless but with a button up collar.

She recognized the proprietary tread. It was Mistress Mabel, an older woman who ran the hostel where Minh now resided. She was also the woman who employed Minh, providing the cot for her to sleep on in the warm kitchen. It was at her insistence that Minh slept in the modest gown. Sometimes a resident would come to the kitchen for a midnight snack or a drink of water. She did not want the young woman to instigate any unruly conduct. Her hostel was not _that_ kind of place.

The woman entered the kitchen, clearly unsurprised to see that Minh was awake. Her brown hair was tied back in a no-nonsense ponytail. With a nod of satisfaction, she waved toward the mud room. Words were not necessary. A routine had developed over the past few weeks. Mistress Mabel always came down to waken Minh, only to find her on her feet each morning.

Going to the mud room, which was nothing more than an enclosed entryway between the kitchen and the backyard, Minh closed the door behind her. It was here that she washed herself with cold water from the water jug. The jug was maintained for the initial purpose of cleaning boots. It was not used as much as the jug in the front mud room, since that was where the majority of the residents brushed off their boots as they came in from the fields.

She quickly undressed and washed herself, using the soap and washcloth kept there for her. She dried herself with a rough towel, then draped it and the cloth on a clothesline to dry. Finished, she held her gown in front of her and opened the door to peer into the kitchen. Mistress Mabel stood guard at the door which led from the kitchen to the rest of the house.

"Hurry, Consuela," she instructed Minh without looking at her. It made her uncomfortable to be around anyone without clothes on themselves. Out of respect for her uneasiness, Minh dressed quickly. She slipped her dress over her head. It was similar to her sleeping gown, but had very short sleeves and a simple round neckline. A bit large for her, the shapeless garment had been hemmed up almost to her knees.

On the trip during her escape from Fort Bivouac, Minh had decided to call herself by another name. Consuela had been her childhood best friend. It would be easy for her to pay attention and answer to that name.

The people she associated with here were different from the warriors, techs, and bondsmen she had previously been forced to live with. These were much more like the people she had grown up with, which did not surprise her when she thought about it. They were farm folk, after all. She felt comfortable living here.

Guy, an AgroMech tech, had brought her to Mistress Mabel's hostel when she first arrived in the settlement. That was after she learned that there was no such thing as manual field labor. The only manual labor was performed by men who cleaned impacted dirt and plant matter from the farm equipment. While she inspected Minh's work worn hands to determine her experience as a worker, Mistress Mabel had looked directly at her right wrist. She could not help but notice the tan line left by the bond cord. Minh was obviously a bondswoman. After a long measuring look, she took her in anyway. Minh had been gratified, even after the stern lecture Mistress Mabel delivered on the conduct she expected from young ladies residing under her roof.

Minh was careful not to be a problem for Mistress Mabel. She became a server and kitchen help in boarding house. Having planned on performing more arduous farm tasks, she was not disappointed. She had discovered that there was no other labor for untrained vagrants. At least, none with room and board. Granted, she was sleeping in the kitchen, but at least it was warm. She preferred the residual warmth that the room retained.

Minh would have rather been put to work outdoors. She would be able to see the arrival of search parties. At least she was out of sight most of the time. As it was, she saw no sign that anyone was looking for her. It was as if her captors did not care that she had run away.

She had been busy learning her routine the first week. In the weeks that followed, she was able to take an interest in the surrounding area. The people who encountered the small woman found her to be quiet, but friendly. The other girls regarded her demure manner with suspicion. They claimed she was trying to be coquettish. Unlike the two cooking women, the other girls lived outside of the hostel. Because of that, they inferred motive and opportunity in their remarks that she lived with all these men in the same house.

Minh felt their animosity stemmed from jealousy. The men proved generous with their scrip, the paper money they used. At first, she was offended when they gave her tips. She did not understand why they were paying her. After all, she was already being compensated by Mistress Mabel. She had assumed that the men wanted something extra from her, but Guy patiently explained that tipping was a sign of appreciation for the work she was performing. He explained that she had been tipped because she worked, but did not flirt. She felt this was a major reason why she was not popular with the other girls.

Pocketing tips at the table had initially proven to be a challenge for Minh. Her dress did not have a pocket. Instead, she hid her scrip in the kitchen. After not too long, she had purchased a neck purse in the settlement. It was just a pouch on a long string that she hung from her neck inside the shapeless dress.

Techs without families lived in boarding houses. Given the population density, there several boarding houses. They normally paid with farm scrip. Trade scrip, from the city, was worth more. In a rate of exchange, one trade scrip was worth ten single farm scrips. The scrip Minh had seen was printed in denominations of 1, 10, and 100. She did not know if there were others. She had come to understand that only civilians used scrip. Warriors used credit vouchers that civilians could trade or redeem. Guy explained that scrip was localized. Not all places on Strana Mechty recognized scrip or the use thereof. Due to the lack of acceptance for this limited currency, populations were not encouraged to relocate. The idea being that people would be more likely to stay where their money had worth.

In addition to scrip, there were tokens. Worth less than scrip, they were used much like coins. However, there was no set number assigned to them. Instead, they were more for barter and promises than actual payment. Guy advised Minh not to accept tokens unless she completely understood what was being bartered. Her naivete and ignorance obviously concerned him.

All in all, Minh liked the people. Sometimes young children would come by the house, usually the siblings of the other girls, but sometimes the children from the family tenements. They were curiously drawn to Minh. Her smaller size and exotic looks drew them. The children liked the unusual young woman because she was closer to their size. Normally unsmiling, she was cheerful around them. One child, a little girl, always asked how Minh made her eyes narrow that way. Mistress Mabel, normally the stern taskmaster, kept a few goodies on hand when they came to visit in the afternoon. Bread buns, cookies, pie-cakes, or whatever was being baked for dessert was provided as treats.

When Minh had time off, sometimes she would encounter the children with their mothers. Thinking of them, she recalled bittersweet memories, of times when she was a child. She remembered the love she had for her mother as she grew up. The love she did not know if she felt anymore. The last time she had seen her mother, they were not speaking to each other. Her mother had not been happy with her, yet Minh had done no wrong in choosing to live her own life. Six months after that, Clan Wolf captured Minh and took her away off planet.

_No doubt, she thinks I am dead. It is better this way_, Minh thought.

Minh realized a woman's life in the peaceful side of clan society was similar to the one she knew growing up. After her recent experiences, she had gained an appreciation for this existence. Could it last? Was this something she wanted to return to? When she had been captured, this had been one of her regrets, that she had made a poor choice when she set out to live her own life.

Despite the comfort she now felt, she knew she did not belong. There was no doubt that she was competent around the kitchen and dining room. She did not complain when assigned work. She did not drag out a task. In addition to her obedience, she worked with an air of satisfaction. At least, that was the face she showed to those around her.

She was having second thoughts. How long would she be happy here? She was afraid she would become restless again. Just like when she left home, but now there was no place for her to go. She was a fugitive. She thought of this often, believing her lack of contentment resulted from her fear of recapture.

She did not think anyone would come looking for her. She was too small to be useful at many tasks. She was too young, too inexperienced, and lacked formal education. She was suited only for menial tasks.

Where was her conviction? What did she really want out of life? Did she wish to return to her roots. Did she want to find her own path? What had she really accomplished by escaping? Did she expect to hurt the clan war effort? Did she _want_ to hurt their effort? Did she want to see the Draconis Combine come through this tranquil farm? A single hit by a powerful energy weapon could reduce the house to char.

Mistress Mabel watched as the young woman put her feet into her slippers. Although lean, she was a healthy eater. When she first showed up, she was extremely slender, but without the appearance of having endured starvation. She was starting to fill out. Her body was concealed by the shroud-like dress, but her round face was proof to how well she was eating. Obviously she was a runaway. The untanned band of skin on her wrist where a bond cord had been was proof of that. Looking at the wrist now, she noticed the sunlight had tanned over that portion of her arm now. Nevertheless, her skin still had stories to tell.

The girl had seen abuse, to judge by the the scar on her neck. It had been inflicted recently. A portion of it was still red, the rest having faded to white. On her arm was a faint line, almost unnoticeable unless one knew to look for it. It seemed to be an old burn injury. On her forehead was a freshly healed cut. It was obvious to Mistress Mabel that the girl had been hurt, possibly intentionally. Whatever had happened to her had not made her unusually timid. Cautious perhaps, but definitely not timid. Her wariness was natural enough for someone new in the house. She had self-assurance that was demonstrated in both her firm manner and supple movement.

She remained aloof from the other inhabitants of the house. She kept everyone at a distance with her no nonsense attitude. It was rare that someone would get too close to her. It usually happened when she was serving at the main table. That was when she expressed a look which said, 'Do Not Touch Me!' The offending individual was always observant enough to back off.

If the girl had one fault, in Mistress Mabel's opinion, it was that she continued to maintain a bad association with Guy. Perhaps it was out of appreciation for having brought her to the hostel. He was not a bad sort, but he was unattached. Like the other farm techs living in her hostel, he had no family. At least, none that he claimed. He had a cavalier reputation of behaving too friendly with the local unattached women. She did not want the girl to get in that kind of trouble. She was too young to start a family. From her appearance, she could not be more than fifteen years of age. Fortunately, Guy had been gone for a week, so Mistress Mabel did not have him around to worry about. He had taken time off to go to the city. The techs could do that periodically. They took turns going on what they called 'supply trips', but rarely did they bring anything back but empty pockets and bleary-eyed hangovers.

Minh was at the main table, filling glasses with juice from a pitcher. The first tech she had served had finished his glass and held it up for a refill.

"When you get a chance, Darling," he said with a pleasant grin.

The term "darling" brought up an unpleasant memory to Minh. Her attacker had called her that in the dark. His rough hands had grabbed at her. Nothing she could do had been able to fend him off.

No one could miss the peculiar expression that appeared on her face, nor the sudden shake of her hand as she almost spilled the juice. In that unguarded moment, a haunted look appeared in her eyes, revealing her vulnerability.

"Startle her, why don't you?" Grace spoke up sarcastically. She turned to Minh. "Don't mind him. He's just rude."

Minh answered with a soft smile. Unable to meet their faces, she kept her attention on the table top.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine," the man said repentantly. "I did not mean to startle you."

"Is okay," Minh replied in uncharacteristically broken English.

At that moment, Guy entered the hostel through the front door, a pack bag slung over his shoulder. Mistress Mabel watched as the girl looked expectantly at the tech.

"After I eat," he said as he went up to his room.

When Minh returned to the kitchen to refill her pitcher, Mistress Mabel asked her what was going on.

"He bought me a harmonica," Minh replied.

"You trusted him with your scrip, girl?"

"Neg," Minh shook her head. "It was his idea to buy it first and let me see it. If I do not want it, he will keep it."

"What do you want with a harmonica?" Mistress Mabel demanded. To her, performing music was a waste of time. Occupied with her hostel all day, she could find something constructive to do every spare moment.

"It sounds nice," Minh replied, brushing her hair from her face in a casual movement. She realized that her reasoning was not adequate. She had heard harmonica music played when she was younger, but she could not recall where. When she saw Guy play his in the shed, she had been captivated. She had also been intrigued by the motorcycle in the shed as well. Guy had informed her that it belonged to him, that he had used it for a delivery service up until the drive belt had failed. That was the main reason he went to the city, to find a new one. When Minh had expressed an interest in learning to ride it, Guy had responded by telling her that he would teach her for free if she could find a drive belt for it. His attitude betrayed his discouragement. He did not believe that a suitable belt could be found. On the other hand, if she was able to find one, he would be grateful enough to let her ride his motorcycle.

After breakfast, when Minh took the food scraps out to the slop can, Guy met her by the shed. He seemed unusually circumspect as he looked around before speaking. He drew a kerchief-wrapped bundle from his shirt pocket and handed it to Minh. She carefully unwound the blue cloth and looked at the musical instrument contained within.

It was an oblong piece of black plastic sandwiched between stainless steel casings. On one edge of the plastic piece were ten square holes. On the other side were gaps in the metal casing that permitted air flow around the plastic. She peered into the gaps and saw the brass reeds set onto the surface of the plastic inside the casing. A letter C was stamped into the top casing, which Minh had learned was the key in which this harmonica was made. Stamped into the upper casing were the numerals 1 to 10. They lined up with the holes from left to right. There was also a name engraved across the casing; Custom 50. It looked as nice as the one Guy played, but she was not sure. He would not permit her to touch it, much less try to play it. Instruments like harmonicas were very personal, she had discovered.

"This looks too nice to be worth ten trade scrip," Minh observed.

"Aff," Guy admitted. "It would be a deal at thirty."

Minh looked suspiciously at Guy. It sounded to her as if he had paid more than that. Most of what she was able to pay with was farm scrip. She certainly did not have enough pay what he was hinting at. Mistress Mabel's warnings about Guy came to mind.

"Our deal was ten trade scrip," Minh said, looking wistfully at the beautiful musical instrument before carefully wrapping it back up in the kerchief. It was inconceivable that she could buy it. He would get much less than what he paid for it, selling it to her at a substantial loss.

"I know, but a guy hears things in the city," Guy said casually, making no attempt to accept the harmonica back. Instead, he sat down on the bench next to the shed.

Minh did not understand what Guy was talking about. She suspected he wanted something from her, something of a personal nature that she was certain she would not want to pay.

"Consuela is a very interesting name," Guy continued, watching Minh. She remained silent, scarcely willing to breathe. Her sense of paranoia was piqued as she listened. "You do not look like a 'Consuela', though. No, I do not think so."

Minh felt trapped, afraid to look at Guy's face, yet unwilling to look completely away. The expression on her face felt wooden, as if she were frozen in time like a statue.

"You look like you should have a different name," Guy said. "Say, 'Minh' perhaps."

Guy had discovered Minh's secret! Somehow he had figured out who she really was. She could not permit him to tell anyone. Minh was aware that the two of them were alone. They were close enough that she could get a strike in against him before he could alert anyone. With her knowledge and reflexes, it could be so easy. In a split second, she had a plan. Seated on the bench, he made an extremely vulnerable opponent. All she had to do was act on it before someone saw them together at the shed. No one would know. No one would suspect her, little Consuela, of being able to attack and eliminate a person who was larger than herself.

She was ready to lash out. Defenseless, he was wide open to attack. He would not expect it, not from her.

Without a conscious thought, she shifted her body and let the tension drain from her muscles. Relaxed, she prepared to spring into motion against Guy. She knew exactly where to strike him, to cut him down before he knew what was happening to him. It would only take a moment and he would be dead.

Dead?

The moment passed and she was filled with dismay. How could she have entertained such a thought of violence. This man was not a warrior. Her freedom was not worth the cost his murder would bring. She was deeply ashamed of her viciousness.

Minh's horror at her thoughts against Guy became visible on her face. What made it repulsive was that she had actively contemplated the death of someone she considered a friend. That was not right, not a rational response for any reason. He had treated her with nothing but respect and kindness, yet she would repay him with violence. She began to shiver from the stress of unreleased tension and the emotion.

"Your secret is safe with me," Guy had misunderstood her expression, not knowing how close he had come to harm. He obviously thought that he was witnessing her panic of discovery.

Minh did not trust herself to speak. Her knees weak, she was afraid she would fall down. She sat next to him on the bench.

"They were looking for you all the time I was there," Guy related what he knew. "I cannot understand why they would want to shoot you on sight. You do not appear to be dangerous."

Minh said nothing, only thinking that he had come close to finding out how dangerous she really was. She wondered at the kind of person she had become. She silently promised herself not to harm innocents, no matter how desperate she was. At once, she felt concern for Guy. He was harboring her as a fugitive. She would not want to see him or any of her new acquaintances punished for sheltering her.

"You are not clan, quaff?"

"Aff, I am not."

"I thought not. I will make a deal with you. I will not take your scrip for the harmonica," he declared. He observed the piercing glare of suspicion in her dark eyes. He gave her a disarming smile.

"I have never been off of this planet. This place is all I have ever known," he waved his arms around. "I want to hear about your home world. I want to hear your stories. What have you seen? What is it like where you are from?"

Minh realized that he was starved for knowledge. Like all of the local civilians, he knew nothing of the world outside of clan space. Apparently the warrior caste did not share their experiences with lower caste members.

"Bargained well and done," she agreed, satisfied with his motives in regard to her. "I believe I am getting the better part of this deal." She warned him that her own life might not be very interesting. Recalling stories she had heard when she was younger, she felt she could offer those.

Some of the tales had not interested her, but the zeal displayed by the storyteller had kept her attention. She also remembered her history lessons. Common to her, such information would be new and unique.

"One woman's boredom is another man's intrigue," Guy confirmed, then chuckled at the blank look she expressed.

She knew Guy would share what he had heard with the other people here. That was the nature of storytellers. She asked for his promise not to tell anyone that she was the source of the stories. No one must suspect she was a fugitive.

"No problem there," Guy said. "Everyone will assume that I had heard them in the city."

That was logical, Minh thought. With an active space port, where else could he have learned of otherworldly subjects?

"Look. I have to get to the field. We will talk later, after supper," Guy promised.

"After I finish my chores," Minh affirmed.

"You tell me what you know and I will teach you how to play your harmonica," Guy nodded at her.

"Aff," she clutched her prize as she went back toward the house. At the bottom of the steps leading up to the door, she paused and looked back at Guy. She gave him a brief bow and a shy smile, then went into the house.

xxXxxxXxx

In the evening, Minh met Guy at the shed. The two sat on the bench under the eaves. They had a clear view of the surroundings. No one would be able to hear their conversation. More importantly, they were in clear of view of anyone looking at them. There would be no unfounded rumors to taint reputations. That was important to Minh. Mistress Mabel would throw her out of the house if she suspected Minh of improper conduct.

Minh's hair was longer now and she had to hook it behind her ears to keep it out of her face. She did it so often that she was unconscious of the action. She was equally unaware of the looks she received from admirers when she did that. She could no longer part it over her left eye and expect it to stay in place. Now it was parted over the middle of her forehead.

"You need a hair clip or something," Guy commented.

In response, Minh gathered her hair into a ponytail and tied it into a knot. Guy smiled indulgently and shook his head.

At the beginning of her first lesson, Minh was admonished not to let anyone play her harmonica but herself. Sharing germs was a real possibility. In addition, she was not to eat food before playing. Food particles would clog the reeds, making a disgusting mess as well. It was okay if she rinsed her mouth with something to drink before she played. After playing, she was to tap the mouth side of the instrument into her palm. That would remove moisture from inside. Another practice was to store it in a kerchief to keep the dust out of it.

After several minutes with their harmonicas, the two set the instruments aside and Minh answered his questions. Some were innocuous enough to Minh's mind. What was her life like? Her description of life with her family proved similar to what she had seen of clan farm life. One difference was the level of mechanization utilized by their respective societies. On her planet, AgroMechs were not used.

One true test of their differences was in their discussion of the defunct Star League. According to Minh, it was the leader of her nation, someone addressed as 'Coordinator', who was the hero in the war to save the Star League from Stefan Amaris the Usurper. It was the coordinator who held the major houses together during the insurrection. While the Star League armed forces fought the battles with the Usurper's followers, the coordinator pacified the rebellious spirit among the agitated house lords. In his wisdom, he knew that the Star League could not afford to fight a two front war should a house lord choose to carve his own empire in a contest of universal conquest. Once Terra had been liberated in the final confrontation, Kerensky and the coordinator could show a united front to the rest of the houses. Before the coordinator could take his rightful place on the throne on Terra, General Kerensky took the Star League armed forces and departed for unknown space. This was the story as related by Minh, portraying the general in a bad light, as if he were a pirate. From the way she spoke, she had expected Guy to share her belief as if it were common knowledge. She became reticent as she noticed that Guy did not agree with her version of history.

Guy had previously come to the conclusion that Minh was intelligent. There was something in her dark eyes, a spark that something was happening deep in her mind. She did not freely associate with the other girls, nor participate in their mindless gossip sessions. It was as if she were reserving herself for something, holding herself to a higher standard.

On the other hand, Guy was convinced that Minh had been brainwashed by her government. Listening to her, he could hear the conviction in her clear voice. How was it that she did not know that the clans were what had become of the allegedly pirated Star League forces? She apparently did not understand that many warriors in Clan Wolf were directly descended from Alexandr Kerensky and his son Nicholas. On the other hand, it would go far to explain why Minh had run away from them.

He discussed that history with Minh, providing her with the facts all clan citizens were schooled. The Council of Lords of the Star League had demanded the resignation of General Kerensky. No doubt this was an attempt to prevent the general from becoming Star Lord, a baseless suspicion on their part. After they had failed to choose among themselves, they abolished the Star League. If they could not control the Star League military forces, they did not want anyone else doing so. Especially if those forces might be used against them.

Seeds of doubt began to take root in the fertile soil of Minh's uneasiness. Her relationship with the warriors had bothered her. The warriors who had captured her had become her friends. It did not seem right. As invaders, they were the enemy of her home state. Until now, she had been firmly convinced of that. Her government was in the right and the attackers were wrong. But, what if everything she had been told was a lie? That would make her school teachers liars. The school teachers taught with the blessing of the government. The towns were controlled by administrators who worked for the planetary governor. The governor was organized with others in the prefecture. Ultimately, it was the coordinator who decided what the people knew. Had he misguided the population under the guise of his alleged benevolent administration?

This new perception of her leader shook Minh to her very core. She did not wish to discuss history anymore that evening.

xxXxxxXxx

That night, Minh found herself unable to sleep. With the new information in mind, her thoughts were in turmoil. Her dreams seemed to replay the newly learned history.

Although Guy did not come right out and say so, he had inferred that the House of the Draconis Combine was one of the squabblers, thus was not worthy of retaining the service of the Star League forces.

She wondered if she could trust what Guy was telling her. Perhaps he was the one who was misinformed. It occurred to her, since their farming community lifestyles were similar, that perhaps they had both been misdirected.

He had also spoken of the emblem of the Star League, a star with eight points. Minh had noticed that Wolf Clan warriors wore stars to denote their rank. The stars had four points, the bottom point being longer than the other three. Minh imagined that the insignia hearkened back to the era of the Star League.

What was the true objective of the conflict? Were the clans on the side of right? Had the Star League armed forces really withdrawn from the undeserving houses they were formally allied with? Then there was the most troubling question. Did the Draconis Combine deserve her allegiance?

Was she a traitor for asking herself these questions?

Minh thought about the clan warriors she had lived among for months. They had not acted like pirates and bandits. On the other hand, they did not act like the military to which she had become accustomed, neither. Their treatment of prisoners of war was not what she had previously been led to expect. At least, not as she had been taught when she was in the militia. Was that more disinformation from her government? Was there nothing she could trust?

The clan forces considered themselves in the right. Minh pondered about that. She had thought of them as invaders, but what if that perception was a mistake? According to Guy, the clans were the direct progeny of the Star League saviors. They were not raiders, but an intervening police force returning to suppress the inter house rivalry once and for all. To do that, they needed to conquer the great houses.

Minh remembered the elitist attitude of the warriors. The shameless display of superiority over those they judged lesser than them seemed inappropriate for liberators. Perhaps it was necessary to project their seeming invulnerability, to better face their opponents. Minh understood that concept. In Combine society, the warrior caste maintained their face in view of the other castes.

She remembered stories about the golden age of the Star League. The five main houses were part of one united government. Peace was the norm, not the exception to the rule. Medicine and technical knowledge was much more advanced in those days.

The Succession Wars had effectively destroyed that unity, erasing much advanced knowledge as well. Law and order ceased to be practical in the face of the divisive armies. It was 'Might makes right'; the bigger the weapon, the more right the user was. The government that used those weapons enforced it's rule. Force of arms was the standard.

Minh wanted order, previously thinking that the Draconis Combine had the most lawfully correct system. Now she thought about the Star League. Perhaps that was what she really wanted. The stories she remembered did not seem so farfetched after all. It was a goal that could be attainable.

Then there was the thought of Keen. She did not like to think of him as a criminal. Why did she yearn for him? He had killed many of her comrades in combat. Strangely enough, it seemed that she missed him more than her family. Perhaps it was because her family was separated from her by the vast expanse of the galaxy. Since Keen was on the same planet as she was, he was attainable to her. Could it be that simple?

These were the matters that disturbed Minh's sleep for most of the night.

xxXxxxXxx

The next evening after their harmonica session, she carefully observed Guy's reaction as she spoke. She offered the premise that, since neither of them had personally witnessed history, their information was suspect. He seemed to take what she said at face value.

He seemed to have considered what she had said about the Star League the evening before. He began to relate the history as he knew of it. He described General Kerensky's dissatisfaction with the squabbling and strife among the great houses. Tired from fighting one civil war, he vowed he would not lead his forces in another one. It was his intention to permit the great houses to wear themselves down, then return and restore order, resurrecting the Star League once more. Out of loyalty, many of his troops followed him when he chose to withdraw from inhabited space, taking much of their war making hardware with them.

As he discussed clan history, some of the facts seemed familiar to Minh. Months ago, her friend Doc had explained the clan way to her. Among that information was the selection process of warriors, culling the best from the legion of genetically refined men and women. From Guy, she learned the reason behind it.

Once the former Star League forces settled on Strana Mechty, they succumbed to nationalism. They fought amongst themselves for dominance, wasting equipment in the process. After putting down an insurrection, Nicholas Kerensky instituted a new society of warriors. He eliminated nationalism by breaking up combat units and reassigning the personnel into twenty clans. He decreased the size of the combat units to conserve resources, making the warriors compete for positions in the new military organization. Family names were eliminated, but the trusted men and women who had served the Generals Kerensky with distinction and honor were not forgotten. Their names were chosen and divided equally among the clans. Called bloodnames, they were won through trial of combat. Twenty-five successful competitors wore each name, earning prestige and privilege. Warriors without bloodnames did not rise as high in the hierarchy. Only the best deserved the right to lead, ensuring excellence and supremacy.

Marriage was also eliminated, so that warriors would not be distracted from their primary focus of fighting. The complications of interpersonal relationships was replaced by the driving need to make a name for one's self. Bloodnamed warriors received the additional motivation of contributing their genetic material to their clan's gene pool, providing a legacy that would live on long after a warrior had passed on. With that incentive, competition between warriors was fierce. No longer did warriors take an active role in reproduction. Families ceased to exist. Warriors related by genetic heritage were united in groups called houses. Thus the institution of marriage had been deemed unnecessary. Minh was saddened by that. She understood the reasoning behind the theories, but that did not mean that she agreed with them.

xxXxxxXxx

Taking lunch to the techs in field was one of the tasks the other girls had managed to pass to Minh. There was always the potential for getting rained on, in addition to the mud and dirt waiting to cause stains. The girls did not like to push the food cart, which was normally stored in the shed with Guy's motorcycle. The cart did not bother Minh at all. As long as the load was placed over the single axle, all Minh had to do was balance the cart as she pushed it. The hard rubber tires traveled easily over the hard pack of the dirt road. The lack of inclines made progress simple.

A distant thunder caught Minh's attention. It was an Aerospace fighter flying high overhead. It was not the first one she had seen since she had come to the settlement. They flew by with common frequency, usually in the same direction. With one hand on top of her hat, Minh looked up and watched it. When she had first seen one of those machines, she had wondered if it were searching for her. Like this time, she was too far to be recognized, even if the pilot could see her at all. The large floppy hat on her head also served to conceal her. A memory surfaced at that thought. Stev Ch'in, an Aerospace Pilot, was able to see very far with his genetically refined vision. Gently shaking her head as if to remove the stray thought, she returned to her task.

She wheeled the cart to the park. The park was what the techs called their work area, the place where the AgroMechs parked for maintenance and repair. After years of operation, the ground below the machinery had become a muddy depression. There was usually an AgroMech sidelined for maintenance when she brought her techs their lunch. This day one of the giant machines configured for harvesting stood amid mud and plant debris that had been cleaned out of it. A filthy process, it was necessary prior to the equipment being checked out for a problem. Between the depression and the roadside was a string of wooden tables and benches. It was there that the different groups of techs had set up their workshops. Cart mounted tool boxes were parked at the edge of the depression. There were a few other food carts already serving techs who resided at different hostels. Having the farthest to travel to the park, Minh was rarely the first to arrive for lunch. However, she made the effort not to be the last. Hungry men were impatient men, after all.

She saw Guy raise his hand to get her attention. Minh waved back in response. Getting lunch to the techs in the field could be a challenge. Sometimes the techs sat at different tables. Sometimes the cart was brought by a new girl. Her techs recognized Mistress Mabel's distinctive purple and white cart, which was what they watched out for. Minh's diminutive stature was hardly unusual out here. Some of the other girls were just as short, since they were younger than the other girls. The older girls had the seniority to stay inside at their hostels. The big hat that shaded Minh's face was just enough to conceal her identity at a distance.

The techs rose up and approached as Minh stopped by their table. One of them reached to take the lid off of the soup kettle. It was Lope, one of the few she had gotten to know by name.

"Not with your dirty hands," Minh warned him off. He knew better than that. She suspected he was just teasing her as he pulled a rag from his back pocket and used it to wipe the dirt and grease from the offending appendages. She quickly organized herself, filling bowls and giving sandwiches to the techs. The techs refilled their thermoses from the cask mounted on the other side of the cart.

In almost no time at all, Minh had served the first course. An empty bowl remained on the cart. Minh counted the assembled techs, noting that she had fed each one. Someone was missing. She brushed the long hair from the side of her face as she looked around the area.

"Beron is still working," Grace volunteered, having noticed what she was doing. She pointed at the AgroMech sitting nearby. Minh nodded, wondering how she could have missed not seeing the large man.

Minh removed her sandals and placed them underneath the cart where no one would step on them. She did not want to get them filthy where she intended to go. She promised the techs she would be right back; a subtle reminder for them to keep their hands away from the cart. The techs watched her as she stepped down the slope into the mud.

"She's not worried about getting her feet muddy," someone commented. "Not like those other girls."

"She is not as dainty as she looks," Lope agreed in a low voice.

"You sound like you mean something by that," Guy said.

"I am half tempted to get to know her," Lope said, more to get a rise out of Guy than any real desire on his part.

"Bad idea," Guy said sharply.

"Take it easy. I am only joking with you. We know that you are sweet on her."

"It is not like that," Guy did not believe that Minh was in need of a protector, but he could not tell these men that. Her self-assurance more than compensated for her small stature.

"We know, she reminds you of your mother."

"She looks like someone's kid," Grace commented.

Out of hearing range of the conversation going on behind her, Minh approached the towering machine. She was fascinated by machinery. Whether it was a simple truck or a massive farming device, it could not fail to catch her attention. Perhaps it was the lack of AgroMechanical equipment in her farming background that fed her interest. The Tran farm had never used AgroMechs. For centuries, the use of advanced technology had been on the decline. Many secrets of science had been lost and it was much more feasible to utilize people in their feudal society.

Minh walked around the giant machine, looking for Beron. She did not see him as she trudged through the mud. Water dripped like rain from the machine, which is what saturated the ground. She allowed herself to be distracted as she took advantage of the closeup view. The AgroMech stood on three broad feet. The wide footprints spread the weight out over the mud so the machine would not sink. It amazed Minh that she was sinking deeper in the muck than the machine. She was so small and light in comparison to the AgroMech. The center foot was round, providing a stable pivot point for steering. It was also very broad, spreading the great weight of the machine over a lot of area. The two feet on either side turned the machine on the center leg's swivel. When moving forward and reverse, all three feet were involved in movement. The outer legs moved together, then stood fast as the center leg moved. It was a slow process, not much faster than a man's casual pace. However, it was not speed that made the machine valuable, but the ability to plant and harvest vast amounts of fruit efficiently.

When the AgroMechs were configured for planting, the attachments hung side to side. Wide paths were left for later machines to traverse the fields without damaging the plants. Only in the final harvesting phase did the harvesters actually tread on the plant ways.

To feed the Clan war machine, efficient food production was required. With the fruit called garneda, it was a four year process. In the first year, plantlings were transplanted and irrigated in moderation. In the second year, the field was flooded. During the third year, the excess water was run off and the trees were harvested. AgroMechs pulled the plants up by the roots. The fruit would be stripped from the foliage and held in the collection bin. The trunk and vines of the plants were shredded and reintroduced to the ground as fertilizer. In the fourth year, the ground would lie fallow and was permitted to dry before planting again. The local area was like a checkerboard with different phases of growth.

Below the AgroMech's harvesting collector were discarded tree-sized fruit plants. She still could not see Beron. Not having been processed, they were still intact; ripe orange and red orbs still attached to the vine-like branches. As Minh watched, there was a metal on metal sound from above, followed by a silvery blur as a tool plopped into the mud by the plant pile. Minh looked up. The sun was in her eyes, making it impossible for her to see into the shady under hang of the collector. She positioned her head until the brim of her hat protected her eyes from the rays of the sun. She could make out Beron in the dim interior. He was sitting on a platform, a tool bag hanging from a stanchion next to him. He was looking down where the tool had fallen.

"You should not be there," Beron called down to her, his voice echoing in the inverted cavern of the machine. "I could have hit you with that wrench."

Minh could hear the frustration in his tone. Whatever he was doing up there, he was obviously not having any success.

"You should stop and eat. Perhaps you will do better after you have eaten."

"Yes, Mother," Beron said mildly. "Be careful you do not step on something sharp. You do not have work shoes. Something might have fallen off of the machine. Even a piece of shredded plant can cut you."

Minh held the hat onto her head as she craned her head back to look up into the machine. She wanted to see what he was talking about.

"Oh, it is damaged," she observed.

"What damage?" he asked. He looked down at her to see where she was pointing. Looking back up, he cursed softly. "I did not see that before."

Hooking the hand strap of his tool bag over his forearm, he climbed down from the innards of the AgroMech. For someone as stout as Beron, he proved surprisingly nimble as he moved around the machinery. He was heavyset, but not tall like an Elemental. Like the Elementals, he had a solid build, but there was little else in their similarity.

Once on the muddy ground, he went over to the tangled plant pile and retrieved his muddy wrench. With his other hand, he grasped a heavy bough. Pulling it free, he dragged it along underneath the machine until he was next to one of the feet.

"Consuela," he motioned for her to join him.

Minh approached, wondering what Beron was doing. He held the wrench beneath a simple valve. Turning the lever, he released a solid flow of water from the narrow piping. With the help of the water, he rubbed the mud from the tool. When it was clean, he shook the wrench dry and put it into the bag hanging on his arm. He turned and plucked a couple of garneda from the mud-covered branch, then held them under the water flow. Quickly rinsing off the reddish orange fruit, he held them out to Minh in one hand.

"Make a basket with your dress," he instructed her.

Gripping the hem of her dress, she pulled it up to make an impromptu pouch. Beron dropped the wet fruit into it. He saw Minh looking upward, her eyes tracing the path of the water piping. As he picked and washed more fruit, he explained that the water came from a residual storage reservoir. Minh nodded in acknowledgement as Beron continued to speak. A byproduct of the engineering cooling system, water was sluiced from the cooling fins when humid air condensed on them. Rather than have rainfall inside of the AgroMech all the time, the liquid was collected in an open topped tank to be drained at the end of the day. Once in a while, a tank was not drained and it would spill from the overflow pipe the next day. It caused no real harm to the equipment.

Beron stopped loading Minh's dress with fruit when it seemed there was no more room. Her collar pulled at the back of her neck from the weight. With fruit in hand, he led the small woman back to the table area. A couple of the serving girls commented on what they called theft. The techs at their tables told them to shut up in no uncertain terms. Instructing them to keep their comments to themselves, they rose up and took baskets from their tables and trudged toward the AgroMech.

Beron explained that fruit still on the vine was not counted by the collector, so technically it was not stolen. Minh was uncertain, especially when she was warned not to let anyone see the fruit hidden in the baskets on her cart.

"The fruit will only spoil on the ground anyway," Guy chipped in. "This way, there is no waste."

As Minh unloaded her dress at her cart, she noticed some of the men watching her with obvious appreciation. With the hem of her dress raised over mid-thigh, they were getting an eyeful of her legs. The admiring looks made her uncomfortable. She looked back in challenge. The men smiled, shaking their heads before returning to their conversation. Minh supposed they did not see women show off their legs very often. Unlike among the warrior caste, civilian women did not customarily display very much leg. In the farming community, Minh had yet to see a skirt with a hem shorter than knee length. At least on adults.

Guy had been looking at Minh in a different manner from the other techs. He noticed that she had lost that half-starved appearance she'd had when he first encountered her. She looked softer. The hard look that had crossed her face belied that softness. Unlike the other techs, he thought he understood the danger her expression represented. When someone was placed under sentence of death, there had to be a reason.

"The collector is not closing properly," Beron announced to the other techs as he arrived at the food cart. "It is gouging the bin."

"That's the one with the pneumatics?"

"Aff," Beron nodded. "Mother found the damage."

Lope laughed suddenly and Guy gave him a dirty look.

"We ought to scrap it and keep the hydraulic units," someone groused. "We waste too much time on it for what little work it actually does."

"'We'?" Beron snorted as he accepted a sandwich from Minh. "I did not see you up there with me."

"You know what I mean," the tech said. "No one has your patience with that thing."

"That is not patience, just long suffering," Beron said between bites. The other techs laughed.

"No, you are half correct. It is not patience, but pure craftiness," another tech held up a fruit to illustrate his point.

"Ah," the first tech nodded in appreciative apprehension. "So there is a reason to keep defective equipment in the field."

"You are learning," the other tech said.

Beron placed a garneda into Minh's hand and invited her to eat it. Having fed her techs, she allowed herself the luxury of a taste test. It was slightly tangy, with a sweet and sour flavor. It was so watery inside, she found herself drinking it as she ate. She could imagine serving it as a soup, a juice, or as cider. The pulp would make a good pie, she decided. It was similar to a tomato.

With the end of the meal, the techs began to filter back to their work. Tips were left underneath the tableware. Minh understood why the techs chose to show their appreciation in that way, but she still felt self-conscious as she collected the scrip. Lope watched Minh put her tips away in her neck purse. In addition to the money, she also kept her harmonica there. It was wrapped in a lint free cloth that protected it from dust and other objects. She had trimmed the cloth so that the instrument would fit easily in her purse.

"This is the first time I wished I was a purse," he commented as Minh slipped the purse back down inside the collar of her dress.

"Don't talk about her that way!" Grace hissed at him, careful not to let her voice carry to Minh. "She behaves better than that."

"I only speak in admiration," Lope raised his hands to ward away the sudden angry snap.

When Minh returned to the hostel, she washed her calves and feet in the mud room. While she was occupied doing that, a serving girl found the fruit.

"Mistress," she said. She had one of the baskets that Minh had brought back, holding it so Mistress Mabel could see inside.

"Consuela."

Minh looked up.

"Did you pick these garneda?"

Minh could see that Mistress Mabel was unhappy. Unprepared for the confrontation, she was too flustered to speak. She could feel her face warm up with embarrassment. She knotted her wet hands in the hem of her dress.

"Well?" The tone of voice that expressed that single word conveyed the demand for an answer.

_She sounds just like my mother_, Minh thought. Her mother never accepted explanations, labeling them attempts to divert blame. She had known that taking the fruit was wrong, but she went along with it anyway. She was as guilty as if she had plucked it herself. If she told the truth, Mistress Mabel might not believe her. She might think Minh was trying to get out of her punishment. Minh did not want to cause Beron trouble by bringing this unwanted attention to him, neither.

Minh lowered her head, unable to speak. Mistress Mabel took that as an admission of guilt.

"I let you work in my house out of the goodness of my heart and this is how you repay me?" Mistress Mabel's tone of voice went from disappointment to open anger. "You little thief!"

Minh cringed. Her reaction only served to inflame Mistress Mabel's indignation.

"You will not be allowed to serve dinner. Let the other girls earn the tips. I do not even want you working in this kitchen! Get out and wait for me!" Mistress Mabel pointed to the backyard.

Minh stood outside and wondered what her punishment would be. Would she be whipped? Because she was not much bigger than a girl, perhaps she would be spanked like a child. The thought humiliated her. Certainly she had not been sent out back to be yelled at again. Fretting the circumstance she found herself in, she reconsidered her decision to keep the blame on herself. Once more, she concluded that Mistress Mabel would not believe her.

She could hear Mistress Mabel order the kitchen help to set the baskets of fruit aside and not to eat any of it. Then the older woman left the house and glared at Minh.

"Tomorrow morning, when the techs leave for work, you will go with them and return the fruit to the field," she informed Minh. "You will apologize to the overseer and beg his judgment. After that, you are free to do as you will."

Minh felt a knot in the pit of her stomach as she realized what Mistress Mabel was saying. Minh was to be denied the sanctuary of the hostel.

"However, you brought your stolen goods into my house. That is an additional offense. For that, I will give you judgment," Mistress Mabel continued. "You will clean this yard. That means you will pull weeds and remove rocks."

Minh looked at the hard packed ground and saw that it would be a difficult task. It was scut work, something not necessary for accomplishment. Without waiting for further instruction, she set to work. She did not complain as she scrabbled and pulled at the sticky weeds. Her fingertips became sore from scraping dirt from the base of the plants to get a better grip on them. Her strong hands quickly tired from the task.

At dinner, the techs noticed that Minh was absent from her serving duties. As they finished their supper, they ask about the fruit. They wondered what dessert had been made with it.

In a cross voice, Mistress Mabel declared that nothing had been done with the fruit and that it would be returned in the morning.

"Really?" Guy asked. "Where is Consuela?" He did not like the smug looks the serving girls shared with each other at his inquiry.

"She is working off her punishment before she leaves," Mistress Mabel disclosed.

Guy found Minh rolling an unevenly round rock across the backyard. She was dirty, sweaty, and tired. She had been working since mid-afternoon.

"Take a break," he said. "You are working too hard."

"No better than a thief deserves," Minh responded in a subdued manner, her voice dry. With her forearm, she brushed away some hair that was sticking to the sweat on her face.

"You are not a thief."

"Mistress is upset that I brought stolen food into her house."

"It was not stolen. You heard what Beron and I said about that."

Minh shook her head in disagreement as she dropped down to the dirt again. She dug around a prickly weed, heedless of the needles scratching her slender wrists.

"You little idiot! Why didn't you say anything?" Guy demanded.

"I did not want to get anyone else in trouble," Minh answered. "Besides, I am an accessory to the crime. I knew it was wrong."

"It was not wrong! There was no crime!"

"Neg. It was wrong. If it was right, I would not have had to keep the fruit hidden in the cart."

"Look, never mind that," Guy could not fight the logic of her argument. "Come in now. You are through out here."

"Mistress Mabel said I had to finish the yard before I can stop."

Guy looked around the yard. It was still a mess. Stones, weeds, and other clutter still covered a majority of the area. Only where Minh had worked was it clean. She would still be working in the morning and still not be finished.

"It will be too dark to work very soon," Guy said in exasperation.

"I can see," she insisted quietly. "I deserve this."

"No one deserves this!"

He tried to pull her to her feet. Somehow she shrugged free from his grip and kept working, obviously trying to ignore him. With a muttered curse, he went into the house.

"She will be out there until morning," Guy said to Mistress Mabel. Then he turned to Beron. " We should be out there helping her."

"'We'?" Beron asked.

"We are both to blame for her," Guy explained. "You gave her the fruit and I convinced her to bring it."

"You put her up to that?" Mistress Mabel did not like being made fool of. This was her house and she enforced the rules. She did not like having her authority contested. That was how she viewed the apparent miscarriage of justice. She gave the two men a withering glare, then went outside. A few minutes later, Minh returned with her.

"I must wash," she declared in a tired tone, her face downcast.

"When you are done, go relax in the sitting room. We are still cleaning up the kitchen," Mistress Mabel instructed her, not unkindly. Minh nodded, not looking up.

"No hard feelings?" Guy asked her.

"It was my fault," Minh said, waving her hand in dismissal.

"For the last time, you did nothing wrong!"

"Good."

"Eh?" Guy was puzzled by her reply. It was not a characteristic statement of the young woman.

"You are finally giving in," Minh spoke in a triumphant tone, her head proudly upright.

Guy narrowed his eyes as he understood what she meant. He chose not to respond as Minh withdrew to the mud room to wash. However, he was pleased to see the return of dignity to her manner.

"There is still some daylight," Mistress Mabel gestured outside. It was clear that she was still displeased. She did not like being wrong. She had made a serious mistake in judgment.

"I would do that, but I did nothing wrong," Guy proclaimed. "The fruit is not stolen."

"You did tell Consuela to keep the fruit hidden. That in itself implies wrongdoing."

"I did not want anyone to think she stole it. There is a difference between actual guilt and perceived guilt."

"Whatever."

"I didn't think she would take the blame for it."

"She has integrity."

"Too much integrity. If you had sent me out to pick weeds for punishment before kicking me out, I would have just left," Guy said. He looked at the closed mud room door. "Can she still stay? She is no longer in trouble?"

"What is it to you?" Mistress Mabel was suspicious. "Do you have designs on her?"

"It is not like that."

"Like what?" she asked in feigned innocence. "I have seen the two of you alone together in the evenings."

"She is a friend of mine. I am looking after her."

"I see. Someone should look after her," her thoughtful tone sounded positive to Guy. She was silent for a moment before going on. "No, she is not in trouble. She can stay."

Minh could hear their voices clearly from inside the mud room while she cleaned herself. It was not only relief that she felt. These people cared about her, but they were not the only ones on this planet that felt that way. That realization improved her attitude. She found that she was developing a positive outlook on her life. It had been a long time since she had felt that way.

Wearing a clean dress, she went to the sitting room. Grace and Lope were talking together, pausing to exchange smiles with her. Minh sat in an overstuffed chair, curling up in it with her legs tucked up into her dress as if it were a blanket. Within minutes, she was asleep.

xxXxxxXxx

The steady rumble of gunfire punctuated Minh's consciousness. She labored to keep her gauss rifle operating as she commanded her tank driver. Enemy BattleMechs seemed to attack quickly while she was unable to move quickly enough to fire back. The Warhammer-like 'Mech advanced on her tank, like before, but this time Minh knew the identity of the pilot. It was Salen. Minh knew that she did not stand a chance, not at the rate she was working. The turret had already been hit. She knew that there would be one more hit on the tank. She yelled to Brenner to vacate the driver's position. He ignored her. She was going to shout her order again when the growing thunder peaked right on top of her head.

"Brenner! Report!" Minh screamed.

It was dark. At first she did not know where she was. Minh sat up and looked around the sitting room, seeking to see the tank she had inhabited in her dream. She could not smell the odor of burning diesel fuel that she remembered. Instead, it was taint of her own sweat that rose from within the blanket that was wrapped around her. She could hear the fading roar of an AeroSpace fighter. The airborne war craft had buzzed the settlement. It must have flown very low to have made such an impact on her dreaming. The timing was peculiar as well. Why did it have to happen at that point of her dreaming? If it had not flown by, would her dream have turned out that way?

She heard complaints coming from upstairs. From the comments, they were directed at the pilot who had disturbed their rest. She did not know if she had cried out for real or if it had been contained within her dream. Her mind still foggy from sleep, she remained in the chair as she collected her wits.

Minh felt lost without her own identity. She did not want to be Consuela anymore. She was living a lie. There was no honor in that.

Who am I? she wondered, her mind restless. Who do I want to be? What do I want to be? Renegade? Prisoner? Patriot? Fugitive? Emigre?

She had even developed a new regard for her former clan acquaintances. Keen was not the bloodthirsty warrior she had made him out to be. Salen was not the ruthless star commander. Batiste was not the vindictive adviser. They were her friends. With that thought, Minh felt a new resolve which cleared away the sleep fog. While her mind was considering that concept, Minh felt the need to engage in physical activity.

Instinctively, she sat up in the chair. The blanket clung to her body and she fought to get free of it. It fell from her body as she struggled to straighten herself up. Her legs, still tucked up inside her dress, were stiff from slumber. She carefully unlimbered herself and stood up. She was about to go to the kitchen when she notice someone standing on the other side of the dark room. Even though she could barely see, she knew it was Mistress Mabel. The older woman was not moving and Minh knew that she must have heard the shout. She remained in place, paralyzed into inaction.

"What is wrong, Girl?" Mistress Mabel asked.

"I was dreaming," Minh said, torment evident in her clear voice. "I did not mean to wake everyone."

"It was the plane that did that. No one could have heard you over that din. I would not have heard you myself if I had not been coming to wake you."

"I am awake," she told Mistress Mabel, hoping to change the subject.

"You seem troubled."

Minh did not answer. Mistress Mabel sighed to herself, but she did not press the issue.

xxXxxxXxx

That day, Mistress Mabel made amends for the previous day's misunderstanding. She also took the opportunity to say "I told you so" regarding Minh's friendship with Guy. She gave Minh more trust and responsibility in the kitchen. Minh was disappointed to discover that she would not be serving the tenants at the table. It was not the loss of tips that bothered her, but the interaction with the men that she would miss. They were friendly and she liked hearing them talk. It was like being with a family.

By the same token, Minh would no longer be taking lunch to the techs in the field. She liked to see the techs working on the AgroMechs. It had been interesting to see the giant machines in operation. She wished she had not lost the opportunity to learn what made them function.

Mistress Mabel's reproach against Guy reminded her what he had said about the Star League. In the light of day with the nightmare fading from her memory, Minh compared his story to the history she had learned. She still did not want to believe him. It had been inconceivable that her view was wrong. Her emotions insisted that he had to be wrong, but her instincts would not let her accept that. The cornerstone of what she believed of her society hinged on what she had been told by her teachers and reinforced by acquaintances. That cornerstone was crumbling in the face of what Guy said. What she had viewed of clan culture did not seem compatible to a bandit society. If her version of history was wrong, then what else had they misled her about?

She felt disappointed by their apparent betrayal. She had trusted them and it appeared that they had misinformed her. She recalled the manner in which they taught, which was not all that long ago. Their zeal demonstrated their belief in what they were teaching.

Had they really lost their way? Mankind could attain a better standard of living. Things had been better under the Star League. Minh observed the superiority of clan medical procedures. To her that was proof of their Star League origin.

She realized that there were more important things than her personal feelings. With that thought came a fundamental shift in her loyalties. She knew that if she acted on them, she could never return home. She would never see her family again. That would be the price of her decision if she gave herself over to the clan.

Her thoughts were treason. She recognized that, but wondered if it was treason to expect the best out of her society, to hold them and herself to higher standards. If she had the opportunity to improve society, she would be remiss not to take advantage and meet the challenge.

She considered the enlistment oath she had taken when she joined the militia. She had pledged to defend the combine and the coordinator. Her new purpose was much more important than obedience to the coordinator. That goal was much bigger than the combine. To fight for the ideals of the Star League was to defend the combine and coordinator from themselves. It would be for the benefit of all.

She found herself missing the rapport she had enjoyed with her friends. That was not so astonishing. She had spent months in their company. Once more, she reviewed her relationship with them. The mentor Batiste, boisterous Keller, serious Anton, taciturn Wendal. Salen with her mercurial moods as well as the compassionate Katya. She still admired Nagatake, her former commanding officer. She could not quite bring herself to think of him as a friend though. To her mind, friends were equal, but she still thought of him as her superior. Of course, the clan warriors were superior to her, but she did not think it was hypocritical to consider them her friends. More importantly, they had known who she really was. She did not have to lie or live in refuge.

What surprised her the most was that she missed Keen. Given the turmoil his past actions had caused her emotionally, she found herself willing to grapple with the conflicting feelings. Many of her comrades in her old militia company had met their end at his hands. She could not forgive him for that, but it was not her place to forgive. Only their surviving family and friends could do that. However, she understood that it had been an act of war. Right or wrong, it was war. People died in war. If Minh could understand that, then she felt she could understand Keen. With understanding could come acceptance. He had demonstrated that he had accepted her. She had seen that in the compassionate way he treated her when he had rescued her from the warehouse that night. Now it was up to her to accept him. She knew she could do that, now that she had finally gotten past the conflict.

Now that Minh had compared her brief existence with her warrior friends with Guy's recital of clan history, she knew she had been wrong. Her perceptions of their motives had been flawed. Misguided in her defense of the Draconis Combine, she had fled. Filled with renewed confidence, she was determined to go back where she belonged. The resurrection of the Star League was her goal now. She should not have fled the clan.

_Escaping had been a stupid idea anyway_.

xxXxxxXxx

Despite her new resolve, Minh continued to have feelings of unease. It was not fear for herself, but concern for the farm folk that she resided with that caused her to worry. It was not a coincidence that she should have that unpleasant dream at this time. She had come to care for these people. They were good and decent. They did not deserve to be attacked by the Wolf Clan. Harboring a fugitive was a capital crime in the Draconis Combine, an act of defiance towards authority. Violators could expect incarceration or worse. There was no reason to believe that the clans would behave any differently. Minh had felt their lash of punishment and discipline, but always in response to an act of poor choice on her part.

She also dreaded the confession she would have to make. She had always prided herself on her honor, yet she continued to pass herself as someone she was not. Her conscience was becoming a larger burden each day since the nightmare.

In her free time, she would sit by herself and meditate. The other girls were first to notice. They had complained, demanding that she get off of her lazy bottom and do something productive. Mistress Mabel ignored their protests and allowed her to be left alone. She had been watching the young woman and knew she had a matter to work out for herself.

"I have been thinking," Minh announced with assurance one evening. She had been about to go out the back door for her harmonica lesson. Guy had been leading the way, but stopped to wait for her. "I have something to tell you."

Mistress Mabel was sitting at the kitchen table, inventories and invoices spread out before her. Closing a ledger, she looked at Guy as if she wanted him to leave.

"Guy already knows," Minh stated, seeing the look. She did not want him to leave. Having him present gave strength to her flagging confidence. Seeing that Mistress Mabel was watching her expectantly, she plunged ahead. "I have been dishonest with you."

"If it is about the fruit-," Mistress Mabel began, but Minh shook her head.

"I have been living a lie," she explained. "I am not Consuela."

"Oh?"

"Consuela was my childhood best friend. When I ran away, I took her name to hide my identity," Minh said. "My real name is Minh. I am a bondswoman. I am a fugitive from Clan Wolf."

"I see," Mistress Mabel noted, then she narrowed her eyes at Guy. "He was blackmailing you?"

"Blackmail," Minh shook her head in a negative manner as she repeated the term. "No, no, no! No blackmail."

"He did not want something from you for his silence?"

"All he wanted from me was my stories," Minh said hesitantly. "He is the one who paid me. He traded a harmonica to me for them.

"His silence concerning me was unconditional."

"Unconditional?" Mistress Mabel repeated.

"I think that is the word," Minh sounded uncertain. "No conditions. He wanted nothing from me for that. He is a good person."

Mistress Mabel looked at the girl for several moments. Minh looked back without flinching away. Though she was unsure of the words she was using, she was confident of the facts behind them. With a satisfied nod, Mistress Mabel turned to Guy.

"You did not make her buy your silence? Why ever not?"

"There are some things that have no price," Guy said. "I would never take shameful advantage of a lady."

"I would believe that of someone else," Mistress Mabel said skeptically. She still had reservations about the tech, despite the honor he had displayed.

"I know," Guy said without rancor.

"I have to return," Minh continued, thinking about Guy's comment about taking advantage. That reminded her of what Nagatake had been trying to tell her after her fight against the tech Trent. She had not wanted to listen to him then. She had gained insight and understanding about the mastery of martial arts. She could see what he meant by compassion and restraint in the way Guy had dealt with her.

Guy and Mistress Mabel were waiting as Minh turned these thoughts in her head. She realized she had been silent too long.

"I was wrong to leave Clan Wolf," she explained simply.

"You have not left the clan. We are Clan Wolf," Guy said. "There is more to the clan than warriors."

"I am starting to realize that," Minh said, her voice becoming meek as she faced Mistress Mabel. "I did not mean to lie to you about my name."

"I was not always Mistress Mabel," the older woman responded. "I chose the name I use now for the dignity."

Minh nodded. It amazed her that a person would change their name at their own pleasure. In her own culture, 'mistress' meant something else. Lacking honor, it was a term she would not have chosen for herself. She had come to understand it had a different, much better meaning here.

"Are you sure you want to go back there?" Guy asked, concerned. "You are under a sentence of death after all."

"They have to catch me first," Minh said. "If I turn myself in, there will be no reason for them to shoot me on sight. I do not anticipate any problems."

"It is the problem that you do not anticipate that gets you."

That seemed to be an oddly militaristic observation from a supposedly noncombatant caste member.

"I doubt my own mother would recognize me like this," Minh indicated the dress she wore and the long length of her hair.

"You certainly look different from when I first brought you here," Guy acknowledged in concession.

"You will be missed around here," Mistress Mabel expressed.

"Perhaps," Minh said with careful earnestness. "I would rather have you miss me. I do not want something bad to happen to you because of me."

xxXxxxXxx

The morning she was to leave, she was treated to breakfast at the main table with the techs.

Save for Guy and Mistress Mabel, no one knew the reason for Minh's departure. Though they were soon aware of Minh's true name, there was none of the stigma that Minh had feared. Living under an alias was apparently socially acceptable.

A black hair band, shaped in a half circle, was given to Minh as a going away gift. Guy told her he had been going to give it to her anyway. Unconsciously, Minh touched her hair, remembering his comment about needing a hair clip.

_Did she have anyone special?_

When asked, it was like she could not breathe. She had been thinking of Keen a lot lately. Though asked in a teasing manner, the question had been unexpected. She was not prepared to discuss such a personal subject. Aware that everyone was looking at her, she remained silent for a moment. She did not want to seem rude by refusing to discuss it. When she shook her head negative, no one believed her. She had thought about it too long before answering.

They were right, but she dared not tell them so. It was a preposterous idea. She was not warrior caste. In fact, she was nothing at all. No proper warrior would have anything to do with her. For Keen to be interested in her, it would mean that he was not a proper warrior. That in itself was unthinkable.

Perhaps they would think it improper for her to associate with a man of greater station in life. Outside of Guy's impromptu lectures, the subject of warriors had never come up. Everyday life in the farming settlement did not revolve around the military caste. Since there were no troops in the vicinity, they never came to mind. In Minh's case, she dared not say a word of her relationship with an Elemental. She could not bear the ridicule and disbelief that she was positive would result from such a disclosure. She was sure these people would think of it as something too outrageous. She would rather that they thought well of her.

Thinking of Keen, Minh wondered at her reception upon her return. Would he be angry with her? Of course. He would no doubt have been furious at her unauthorized departure. Would he still be angry after all this time? She did not know. She hoped she could withstand his fury. It was all she could do just to bear it before when he had struck her. She did not want to be treated that way again. The thought that he might no longer care about her bothered her more than she dared voluntarily disclose. On one hand, she wanted to see him again. On the other, she was afraid of what would happen when they met once more.

Momentarily lost in reverie, she almost did not hear the remark made by Guy, "This one is special."

Guy observed the young woman as she concentrated on eating her breakfast. He remembered when he first met Minh. Looking for work, she had approached the techs in the field. She had a very lean figure, leaner than she was now. It was as if she had been starving. Watching her eat, it was easy to see how she put her weight on. Far from being that skinny waif, she had the appearance of a well cared for farm girl. It was as if she had grown up during her stay with them.

He would miss her.

Advanced Infantry Tactical Training School, Luthien

Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine

29 May 3051

Huy Tran was studying near a small group of men sitting at a table in the Advanced Infantry Tactical School barracks. Like them, he wore urban camouflage fatigues, the uniform of the day for the combat school. In the stark lighting of the platoon bay, the uniforms appeared incongruous. Light and dark gray, brown, and black irregular shapes covered an alternating gray and brown background in a random pattern. On dimly lit side streets during tactical exercises, Huy had found the deceptive coloring to be surprisingly effective.

He was sitting on the floor next to his bunk with a military manual open on his folded legs. He had been steady in his studies, keeping to himself for one hour each evening in his endeavor to become the best soldier he could be. The other members of his company did not seem to have the same elan. Huy was trying to focus on the words in his manual, but the conversation at the table intruded into his concentration.

"What is that you are listening to?"

"Love Supply."

"That music group is proscribed listening."

"Do I look like a Commonwealth spy?"

"Actually, yes."

"I suppose you're going to tell me I should listen to Eto-chan?"

"Eto-chan is a lot prettier."

"Prettiness is not a talent."

The discussion had turned to the 'darling of the DCMS', Etohko Iizasa. Called Eto-chan, she was a relatively new actress and singer. In no time, she had become a pop star, having performed in "Samurai Midnight" for her debut and in it's sequel, "Midnight Samurai" in the title role. It seemed that every third trooper had a picture of the idol posted in his locker. Huy had no opinion on the subject matter, paying it little mind beyond what was actually said. It was just talk.

Huy tried not to listen to such discussions in the barracks. The men spent their free time occupying themselves with contemporary matters, such as the one they were engaged in at present. Every once in a while they would try to draw Huy into their groups, but their trivial subjects rarely interested him. They considered his devotion as a need for vengeance. Chosen as involuntary inductees, they did not share in his esprit de corps. Many were convinced that the hostilities would end by the time their training was completed. All they had to do then was occupy enemy territory and garrison cities.

Huy did not agree with that assessment, much as he might wish it were true. The few veteran instructors who had returned from combat with the clans taught with an urgent intensity. The other trainees believed that the instructors were just being fervent just to get extra performance from the novice students. They just did not share the urgency of the moment. Apart from the urban camo uniforms, Huy had very little in common with his new comrades.

"I guess we can thank Eto-chan for the resurgence of ninja holovids."

"Ninja and wuxia holovids have been around for years."

Wuxia? That's the the same as ninja."

"They are not the same. Wuxia are Chinese martial art shows. Ninja are Japanese spy assassins."

"How would you know? I bet you subscribe to the Journal of Applied Ninjutsu," someone accused.

"Is there really such a thing?"

"It's her fan club."

"Figures you would know that."

"What do you mean by that? Take that back!"

"Well, I heard she has a governmental patron. That is why her career is so successful."

"Patron? What's that?"

"Someone with a lot of influence who looks out for someone."

"Looks out?"

"You know, helping them get ahead in life, things like that."

"Oh, you mean like being selected for MechWarrior testing?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, Tran! Who's your patron?"

"My father. You know that," Huy replied. His father's limited influence had not saved him from being singled out by Gunso Leonid's abusive manner in basic training. He had survived that psychological pummeling, hardening himself in the process. He took that lesson to heart. He would best serve his sister's memory by being emotionally stable. He would not hazard himself and his team by giving in to the rage of vengeance.

Huy had been tested for an opportunity to undergo MechWarrior training after the graduation of his recruit company. The rest of his company had not been tested, which was the source of the jesting he had just taken. He was positive that the only reason he had been given that opportunity was because of his father's influence. The special treatment bothered Huy, but he was not about to give up any advantage if it meant that he would be better prepared to protect his home.

The testing confirmed that he had the intelligence. He also had the hand and eye coordination. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that he had the drive. What he lacked was the physiology. It turned out that he was completely incompatible with the neural interface required to effectively operate the giant machines.

Now that the men at the table were trying to involve him in their bantering, there was no point in trying to study anymore. Shaking his head in amusement, he rose and put his book into his locker. The comment about patrons reminded him that he had been biding his time. He had been waiting to record a message for his family this evening. It was late now and he hoped the lines to the holo booths would be short.

"Man, I thought you'd never leave. Next time, don't make so much noise," one of the soldiers said jokingly. Huy waved his hand in mock apology as he walked away. The others laughed in good nature.

As he left his platoon area, he thought about what he would tell his family. He could not tell his parents about the garrison training company he was attached to. It was advanced infantry training. Far from practicing marching, he and his comrades had to learn to move through industrial and urban areas with training weapons. Luthien was heavily industrialized. That was a surprising change to Huy, accustomed as he was to an agrarian society. The weapons they were armed with were mock ups, made of bright colored plastic. Obviously molded in one piece, any civilians seeing them would not mistake the nonfunctional training props for real weapons. More importantly, no one, civilians nor "opposition force members" risked being shot by mistake by an "unloaded" weapon. The object was to know how to secure buildings and facilities, clearing out opposing infantry without causing undue damage. They practiced these exercises day and night.

He did not exactly regret joining the army, but he did have second thoughts. His military training made him more aware of the hazards he would be facing. The practice exercises had the potential to literally blow up troopers in an accident. Close support for the 'Mechs was dangerous enough. Men could easily be stepped on and crushed. It had never occurred to Huy that men on the ground would have to assist BattleMechs in combat, but it made sense to him now. It was not just that their base camps had to be guarded. Someone had to scout out the areas that were too confusing for 'Mech sensors to penetrate. The men worked in concert with the hulking machines to help cover their blind spots. The 'Mechs' blind spots were not just physical. 'Mech jocks themselves held ground troopers in arrogant contempt. A squad of men, much less a single man, did not pose much of a threat in a straight stand up battle.

While learning anti-BattleMech tactics, Huy learned that it worked both ways. The training noncoms reciprocated that same contempt for 'Mechs. Upon retrospection, Huy supposed that the instructors had to express themselves like that. It was a way to instill confidence in the trainees. The lords of the battlefield were fearsome, but not undefeatable. Despite all of the detection gear a 'Mech was equipped with, it was useless if the pilot did not think to use it. A trooper could take advantage of that by giving the pilot what he expected to see. Camouflage could hide the men from visual detection. Deceptive terrain could conceal the traps they set. Vehicles could be hidden from magnetic anomaly detectors in areas with high concentrations of iron.

No, he did not dare tell his family about any of his training. It was not so much for the sake of operational security. He just did not want to cause them excessive worry. He was especially concerned about his mother.

Infantry suffered from high rates of attrition against BattleMechs. Of that, Huy was unwilling to fool himself. With a notoriously low survival rate, it was not only possible, but very likely that he would die, even if he did everything right and was successful. If the worst happened to him, he was afraid it would send his mother over the edge of sanity. That was something he had not considered when he first decided to leave home for military service.

He did not know what went wrong with the militia in Provost when his sister died. Surely the troops had known what he had just learned. Perhaps it would have been different if the battle had occurred in the town. There was more cover to be found in the urban setting than out in the hills. His sister had been in command of a Demolisher heavy tank. The one picture he had seen of her with it had not shown much more than the top of the turret, but he had discovered that those tanks had been armed with two assault-class autocannons. Those powerful weapons were short range weapons, hardly ideal on the open field. In town, the attacking BattleMechs would have been forced to get in close to attack the tanks. Instead, the tanks had given up their sole advantage and permitted the BattleMechs to destroy them from outside of the range of their autocannon. What had made the company commander make such a poor tactical choice?

Had the toads been a factor? That was what the training noncoms called the armored troops, because they hopped like toads. The company clerk from his sister's militia company had seen them when they captured his base. He was not sure he believed in the implied capabilities of the toads. It seemed implausible that they could jump a hundred meters, much less rip apart BattleMechs. Nevertheless, such units would be more maneuverable in town than tanks. If they were a serious threat to 'Mechs, then tanks would be even more vulnerable.

That thought about his sister's fate brought him back full circle to his family. His mother Xuyen still viewed Minh's departure as a failure on her part to properly raise her daughter. Huy did not agree. He was of the opinion that his mother had done everything possible.

Huy regarded Minh as a courageous young woman. He had respected his elder sibling's confidence because she had dared to follow her personal belief, despite her restricted cultural upbringing. She thought she was doing the right thing. Having observed the inequity between men and women, he had sympathized with her.

When Huy joined the army, he had thought he was doing the right thing too. For him to change his mind now would betray his memory of Minh. He dared not return home. Even if it were possible to cancel his enlistment contract, his sense of duty would not permit it. It would only cast doubt on his ability to follow through on his next venture. His integrity and credibility would be suspect in the eyes of the people in his father's employ. They weren't merely employees, they were Huy's friends. Losing their respect would be crippling. He would not be able to endure their contempt. He would have to make sure he did not give them reason to feel that way. He would eventually have to take over for his father as their employer. He dreaded that day. He did not want to make it harder on himself.

It was not that Huy had changed his mind about the threat the clans posed to the combine. He still felt that way, though of late he began to have doubts about himself. Could he make a difference against that threat himself? He was but one man. One man barely figured into the pessimistic odds when it came to facing down an opposing BattleMech. It took many men to bring down one of those massive war making machines. The bigger the machine, the more men it cost in lives.

No, he could not tell his family about his inner fears, neither. Instead, he would discuss the upcoming Tet celebration. That was a neutral enough subject, one which would not cause any concern at home. He hoped to be able to celebrate it this year in the local Vietnamese community in Imperial City. He had already met some nice people there when he was on weekend pass. In this way he would reassure his family that he was doing well.

Tet, the Vietnamese New Year celebration, began on the first new moon after January Twentieth. On the different planets where the Tet was celebrated, it occurred on variable days, depending on when the new moon was observed. On those planets with more than one moon, one of them would be chosen as the primary when determining the beginning of the new year. On Luthien, Tet was scheduled for the twentieth of January.

Many women and girls would wear ao dai, which was Vietnamese for long dress. The dress was full-length on women. Form-fitting, it split into a front and back panel from the waist to the ankles. Underneath were worn black or white loose-fitting trousers. There are many stylish variations in color and collar design. The ao dai worn by men was knee length and more loose-fitting. More boys than men wore them. Serving military members and veterans wore their uniforms.

The highlights of the celebration were the pageant and parade. Speeches were made by local civic leaders. Vendors welcomed the opportunity provided by the crowds of merrymakers to distribute free samples of their products. The Tran family farm traditionally maintained a kiosk that served corn on the cob.

Huy hoped that this Tet would begin an auspicious year. Following the disastrous events of the previous months, the last year had been mediocre at best.

At the last Lunar New Year festival, the ao dai that Tai Nguyen wore had been green over white. The flower design was embroidered in matching green in a diagonal line from one shoulder and down the front panel. Her long hair had been neatly bound up, giving her an elegant appearance. Encouraged by their collective parents, Huy accompanied the young woman at the festival, becoming better acquainted with his arranged fiancee. With her friends as chaperones, they enjoyed the time together. He was continually struck by her intelligence and practicality, which contrasted her youth. Compared to others her age, she served as a model for maturity and dignity. Until Tet, she had seemed so young to him. Thinking about it now, their age difference would become negligible in a few years. By the time he returned home after his enlistment was over, if he survived, she would be old enough to marry.

Xuyen had worn a white ao dai with frayed fringes in mourning. It was a solemn observance for both the Tran and Nguyen families. Xuyen and Tai's mother were together much of the time in companionable silence. Except for their own family, they were alone. Traditionally, it was considered bad luck for others to call on those in grief. However, a somber remembrance was held by several of the veterans. Huy, his father Dinh, and Tai's father had been included in the semi-private conclave. Normally, only active and former military members would be invited. On account of Huy having signed up to be an enlistee to the DCMS, and because of the loss incurred to the fathers, they were welcomed.

As Minh came to mind, he felt the familiar tug of muted grief. Minh had been born during Tet. Due to the variable lunar phases of the moon, sometimes her birth date coincided with subsequent new year observances. The memory of his sister was bittersweet as he remembered the various celebrations. She would mingle with her school acquaintances and associate with her best friend, the storekeeper's daughter. He could not remember her name, but recalled that she had wanted to become a fashion model or something like that.

At her last Tet at home, the color of Minh's ao dai had been orange over white. With the season uncommonly warm, she also wore a conical hat in the bright sunlight. Soon to turn eighteen years old, she was eligible to participate in the beauty pageant. Unfortunately, their mother had forbidden her to compete since the Tran farm foreman's daughter had entered as a competitor. Xuyen felt that competition "within the family" was unseemly and would reflect badly on them. The difference of opinion between mother and daughter served to fuel the fermenting disharmony between them. Though clearly unhappy with the decision, Minh capitulated. Despite the contention with Xuyen, Minh and the other girl remained friends throughout. As it happened, her best friend had won that year. Shortly after that holiday, Minh had left home, never to return.

Huy hoped that the subject of Tet would not unsettle his family as it had apparently done to him. However, lacking no other positive news to reassure them with, this was the best he think of.


	10. Chapter 9

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Nine by D G Palmer

Fort Bivouac

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

14 June 3051

Minh's return to Fort Bivouac did not have the result she expected. Sitting in the jail cell, she belatedly supposed she should have expected incarceration. Ever since she had been locked in, no one had come to see her. She had been alone with her thoughts for hours.

Had she really presumed to be welcomed back with open arms?

Minh sat on the cloth and pipe-frame bunk that was attached to the ferro-crete back wall of the cell. The cell was one of ten that were in the room, five on each side of the center walkway. At both ends of the walkway was a metal door. Inset at head level was a sliding door that covered a view port. Having come through the closest door, Minh did not know where the other door led. She was the only occupant confined in the detention facility.

Andre came into the room. One of the jailers brought in a chair for him to sit on. He sat facing her and waved the jailer out of the room. Minh remained seated on the bunk, her posture stiff.

Andre had already spoken to the gate guard who had apprehended Minh. Even though the shoot on sight order had been months old, he wanted to know why Minh had not been detected long before she was close enough to surrender herself. The gate guard had not noticed the young woman because she had approached behind a group of warriors returning after having lunch in town. Even face to face, she did not match the description of the runaway bondswoman.

Minh was a small woman with a naturally pale complexion. With her almond shaped eyes and delicate features, she should have stood out from the crowd. After all, her small, exotic appearance was not that common. The only real change was that her black hair had grown out and her figure was no longer as sleek as before. These changes were not that outstanding.

Andre was amazed that such a minimal change in appearance had been so effective. This was the sort of information he was interested in. With it, he would be able to establish the operational techniques of his intelligence gathering organization.

He had given the order to keep Minh's return a secret. He wanted the opportunity to interrogate her before the report of her return was sent up the chain of command. Star Colonel Quint DeVega wanted her dead. That was his order when she had escaped and his disposition had not changed. Once he found out the woman had returned, he would order her immediate destruction. Of that, Andre had no doubt.

He felt it was a sheer waste. If he had been able to, he would take her for his own mission. It was too bad that he could not have captured her himself. Then he could have hidden her away and found a way to put her to use.

Andre considered armed incursion to be a poor intelligence gathering tactic. Informants were on guard and there was little opportunity to get comparative information. Andre would rather get the information without the informer suspecting that he had let something slip. The process of using combat had proven wasteful as he had discovered when Minh had first been captured. He was in agreement with others who had already made public their opinion on the trip into the Draconis Combine. There had to be a better way. To that end he would investigate every possible method in his research.

"Do you remember me?" he asked. Minh nodded once in a subdued manner. He could have had the cell opened, but he preferred to let the girl look back at him through the bars. It would serve to keep her helplessness foremost in mind during their conversation.

"I am going to ask you questions," he announced. "You will respond, quaff?"

"I tell you what you want to know," Minh said earnestly. Her grammar sounded stilted, as if she were uncomfortable. Andre knew there was no need to threaten the young woman with drug interrogation. It was obvious she remembered that mentally invasive procedure.

Minh definitely remembered the man in the leather jacket from imprisonment on the JumpShip. She had never learned his name. Knowing from first hand experience that she could not resist interrogation, Minh had chosen to be completely candid.

He wanted her to begin at the beginning. She assumed he wanted to know from the day of her escape. He stopped her and asked her to begin when she decided to escape. That was on day one of her captivity and she said so, explaining that she had not attempted to escape because she did not have the opportunity. Relating her attempts at research seemed to give him the information he asked for. He did not interrupt her deposition as she explained what she had thought during her planning and disappearance.

Later she explained that she chose not to escape by DropShip because she was sure she would have stood out without help from the crew. She waved a hand at herself saying that she looked too distinctive. Andre noted that her distinctive appearance had not been seen the intervening months she had been missing. He was curious to discover how she had managed that.

He interrupted her at various points, asking many personal questions. She did not understand what bearing her sleeping habits had on her escape. He was curious about the interpersonal relationships she developed. He seemed to be fascinated by the little things, such as how the farmer folk bartered with each other and how the serving girls behaved. His interest reminded her of his questions about her family farm life during his interrogation of her months ago. What exactly did he want? What was he looking for? No matter what it was, she did not prevaricate.

He was also curious about what he found in her neck purse. Did she actually play the cloth wrapped harmonica? How had she come into possession of the trade scrip? What purpose was served by the string with knots spaced at one end?

Minh admitted that she had just started to learn how to play the harmonica. She had earned the scrip while waiting tables. The knots in the string had been careful spaced to carefully measure the width and thickness of a motorcycle's rubber drive belt. She was unable to bring the broken drive belt with her, so she decided to use a piece of string. After the knots had been tied, the string had been placed alongside the original drive belt and cut to that length. What Minh intended to do, if she ever found an unbroken belt, was to wrap the string around the outside and see if the ends lined up exactly.

That was a simple enough solution, Andre thought. Like when she had assumed the name of Consuela. It was familiar to her and she would not likely fail to answer to it during a moment of inattention. That was the kind of innovative thinking he was looking for. He wanted more well thought out ideas. The respect he felt was tinged with regret. It was obvious she did not suspect that she was to be executed. There was no point in telling her that. It would only serve to make her uncooperative. If she knew she was soon to die, she would also know there would be no time for a drug interrogation.

There was something else he would not tell her. He had found Minh's father in the database that had been compiled from their hostile sojourn to her home planet. He had been found wandering lost through the town of Provost. With a suitcase in hand, he was suspected of looting. He explained that he had been looking for his daughter. He had not volunteered anything more about her than that her name was Minh and that she lived in Provost. He was released when it was confirmed that his suitcase held changes of clothing. That tidbit of information had not been added to the database until after the Clan Wolf warriors had departed the planet Demeter. Not that it mattered one way or the other.

At least, not the information itself. No, it was how the information had been gathered and compiled, or in this case, not compiled until long after the fact that concerned Andre. He needed to streamline the system and make it more efficient. That was one of the criticisms he had been mulling over concerning the unpopular mission.

Another complaint had been that not much information had been gleaned in the way of tactical importance. That had not been the purpose of the trip. It had been strategic planning that had been best served. They now had a better insight into the combine's organizational doctrine as well as how their society served to support their logistics. However, insight was no replacement for hard information. To get that, he had to build up his intelligence gathering apparatus.

However, he could forget any further patronage from Quint DeVega. The star colonel had soured against Andre's ideas, especially after Minh's escapade.

Minh felt unclean as she cooperated with the older man in the leather jacket. She had been completely candid, telling him everything. It felt almost like a confession, but it did not make her feel better. It did not help that she could not tell what he was thinking while he examined her through the metal bars of her cage. When he left, she was positive he had kept her talking for hours. Although she was happy that he was through with her, the relief she felt at his departure did not last long. Alone and uncertain, she resumed her wait.

xxXxxxXxx

"What is this stuff?"

Star Commander Salen dumped the contents of Minh's neck purse onto the guard office desk. From the way it had been cluttered in the purse, it was obvious that the purse had been searched before. Leaning over the desk, her black braided hair slipped past her shoulder and hit the pile. She absently moved the braid out of her way.

"This looks like money," Point Commander Keen picked up some of the paper scrip and examined it. It was not something that warriors had contact with. After all, they did their business through the use of vouchers. The pieces of paper seemed small in his massive fingers. Keen raised his head, his dark hair trimmed in a crewcut, to watch the star commander poke through the items.

"She has certainly been industrious," Salen noted as she inspected the harmonica, handkerchief, and tangled piece of thread. Apart from the scrip, nothing she saw told her how Minh had spent her time on the run. Shaking her head, she stuffed the items back into the purse in the same sloppy way she had found them. She then handed the entire thing to Keen who placed it into a pocket in his coveralls. "Well, let us get on with it."

Looking through the view port of the door to the cell room, Keen and Salen could see Minh in her jail cell. She sat centered on the bunk, her legs together with her sandal-clad feet on the floor. Her hands were folded on her dress covered lap. A despondent look was on her face as she stared straight ahead at the locked cell door before her.

"She looks well fed," Salen commented, observing her neat appearance. "She does not look like she put up much of a fight."

"She came back on her own," the warrior in charge of the brig commented. He had listened to the interrogation earlier. He had easily heard them at his desk in the guard office as they had spoken loud enough to be heard by each other.

"Interesting."

That was Keen's only comment. Salen looked at him sharply. There had been something in his voice, like pleased surprise or hesitant approval. Noticing her, he looked back, a determined expression on his face. Salen gave a single nod in agreement as if he had sought to confirm her resolution.

Keen and Salen had been summoned by the star colonel just after dinner. Informing them of Minh's apprehension, he reinstated his execution order. Keen objected by stating that such dire action was counter to proper conduct of warriors. Since Minh was in custody, she was no longer an uncontrolled threat. To kill her when she had done nothing to warrant that death would be a real travesty of justice.

The star colonel wanted to repudiate Keen's objection, more to satisfy his personal need for reprisal than anything else. However, he knew that the Elemental had spoken truly. His last chance to eliminate the troublesome bondswoman slipped away when the gate guard accepted her surrender instead of shooting her. As he realized that, he knew it was pointless to persist. Keen was no doubt prepared to challenge him to a Trial of Refusal. A challenge he was not prepared to meet, much as it galled him.

Having grown tired of the radical thinking that seemed to have infected the people of his trinary, he was unconvinced of its practicality. Instead of going head to head with Keen over the matter of the bondswoman, he proposed his own terms.

The surprise Quint saw in their eyes at his change of mind was gratifying. At least he had that minor satisfaction.

Now the two of them were in the detention facility. Keen took a deep breath, then slowly released it. Salen looked to him and waited. It was not long before Keen reached to the door and pulled it open.

Minh looked at the two warriors with wary eyes as they entered the room. Her expression changed to hope, which died in her eyes as she observed Salen's stern visage. As for Keen, he merely looked unemotional. Noticing his apparent apathy towards her, Minh's unsteady spirits fell.

The jailer had followed them into the room and unlocked the cell. Nothing was said as he left the room to the three. Looking back at the silent warriors, it was all she could do not to wither under their scrutiny.

"Come here," Salen commanded curtly.

Eyes burning with shame, Minh rose to her feet timidly. She walked slowly to the door of bars and pushed it open. She stood before them, waiting uncomfortably.

"What is this?" Salen reached for Minh's head. Minh tried not to flinch at the invasive action. "Bondswomen are not permitted to wear unearned trinkets."

Minh remembered she wore a head band to keep her long hair out of her face. Gripping it firmly, Salen took it off, tugging the young woman's hair out of place as she did so. Dropping it to the floor, Salen indicated Minh's bare wrist.

"Where is your bond cord? The last time you took it off, I whipped you for it."

"I submit myself to your punishment," Minh replied quietly to Salen.

Without hesitation, Salen slapped Minh's face with the flat of her hand. Caught by surprise, Minh staggered sideways as her head twisted on her neck. She felt her cheek heat up from the impact.

_At least she does not hit as hard as Keen does_, she thought as her eyelid fluttered involuntarily above her stinging cheek.

"I am very disappointed."

The direct statement had an influential effect. Minh would prefer to have been whipped with the electro-lash again rather than be inflicted by Salen's condemnation of her.

Keen said nothing, which was not indicative of anything at all. On one hand, he could be in complete agreement with the infuriated MechWarrior. On the other, he could not care less about her opinion of his bondswoman. In either case, it was apparent he felt little need to contradict Salen.

Dark eyes wide with entreaty, Minh longed to hear his voice . She had hoped he would be happy to see her, yet she could not blame him for her unfaithfulness. It bothered her that she did not know how he felt. She needed to know, one way or the other, so she could make restitution to him. Speechless, she was afraid he would not listen to her explanation. Not knowing where she stood in his eyes only made her feel worse.

If he would not speak, then Minh decided that the proper reply should be silence. Squaring her stance toward Keen, she bowed to him.

It was Salen who lost patience with Minh's abasement. She found the smaller woman's shyness to be extremely offensive to her. It was very unlike a warrior's manner.

"You think you can bow down and apologize? Oh, no way, Missy," Salen berated her.

Minh straightened up, her eyes wide in shock. Though the MechWarrior had her full attention, she could not miss seeing Keen turn away from her and walk out of the holding cell area. He had not spoken at all.

Salen took custody of Minh. Keen did not accompany them as Minh was escorted from the brig. It was dark outdoors. Minh had missed having lunch, since she had bided her time to follow a group of warriors back to base. Her interrogator had kept her talking past dinnertime as well. Hungry and discouraged, Minh walked beside Salen in a state of shock. She was not surprised when they arrived at the barracks where Minh had resided before her escape.

Salen followed her up the exterior stairway to the third floor. As Minh entered the door at the end of the bunk room, the women inside looked to her in surprise.

"Take that rag off," Salen indicated Minh's dress.

Minh pulled the garment off over her head and handed it into Salen's outstretched hand. Her hair in disarray from removing her dress, all she wore was her underwear and sandals. Standing just inside the door of the barracks room, she felt exposed in her undressed state.

_This is bad_, she thought as she looked back at the staring women. Someone snickered.

Salen reached over and took Minh's chin in hand like a child. Turning her head back, Salen was satisfied that she had Minh's attention.

"You will not leave this barracks without permission, quaff?"

"Aff, Salen."

"You will not be disobedient in any manner, quaff?"

"Aff, Salen."

"If you cause any trouble," Salen said in a careful voice. "If I even think there is any trouble, this barracks will be decimated with a neural lash. Do you understand what the term 'decimate' means?"

Minh wanted to shake her head in a negative manner, but Salen had not released her chin. Such contact was humiliating to her, as Salen no doubt knew.

"Kill them?" she guessed. She had heard the expression used before, usually in the context of combat unit annihilation.

"One in every ten women in this room will be chosen at random to be whipped," Salen explained. "One in every ten that is except for you. You will watch them suffer as a result of your folly."

Looking onto the other woman's eyes, Minh knew that Salen was serious and that she would carry out the threat of punishment. The effect of the threat was that Minh would not allow the innocent to be harmed on account of her actions. She had been lashed once, months ago. The marks on her body had long since faded away, but an unnoticeably faint burn scar remained on her forearm. The painful memory that surfaced made her flesh crawl.

"Do you understand?"

Minh thought about the women in the room, women like Henna, Erin, and Fal. The thought of them suffering a cruel neural whipping was unthinkable. A surge of anger filled the bondswoman. Salen squeezed her chin as the silence lengthened.

"I understand, Star Commander," Minh grated, letting her resentment show.

Salen released Minh's chin and straightened her hand, holding it to the side of her face. Minh knew what was coming, but she dared not attempt to avoid it.

Salen gave the side of her face a slap, not too hard, but making a noise loud enough to be heard across the bunk room. Minh blinked rapidly several times.

"Good girl," Salen said. Minh was not sure if the commendation was for her answer or for not resisting the abusive gesture.

"I will return for you in the morning for exercise," she continued, looking Minh over scornfully. "You are out of shape. Wait for me in here."

"Aff, Salen," Minh barely had time to finish the response before Salen was out the door.

Minh walked to her bunk, the top bunk closest to the showers. The women shrank away at her advance, giving her plenty of room. No one spoke to her. Reaching her bunk, she found the mattress to be bare and the locker at the foot of the bunk empty.

_What am I going to do?_ Minh wondered. In her mind, she imagined Salen forcing her to the nature course in her underwear. She just stood there, not looking around. The women had heard Salen's threat against them. They stayed away from Minh, obviously resentful. They would be no help.

_I did this to myself_, Minh thought in resignation.

"Minh," Henna, the dark brown tech in charge of the barracks room, gestured to her from her office door. "I saved your things."

Henna explained that when it appeared that Minh would not be coming back, she had gathered Minh's clothes from her locker. That was all that remained. Those things of Minh's that could be used by someone else had already been taken. The only exception were her clothes, since no one else was her size. She did not have much to begin with, but most noticeably her bedding and grooming kit were missing. Even her duffel bag was gone. Henna had not expected Minh to return, so she kept the clothing on hand in case a woman who happened to be the right size could use it.

She did not have any spare bedding on hand, but she could get some the next day.

_It cannot get any worse than this_, Minh hoped as she picked up a folded jumpsuit to put on.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen knew she had angered Minh with the threat of decimation. It was one way she knew to control and guarantee the bondswoman's good conduct. Before her escape, she had orchestrated a challenge against men from the adjoining barracks. Salen had not been there, but Batiste had told her about the duel. Apparently, Minh had appointed herself the women's protector. It was this sense of responsibility that Salen intended to use as leverage.

Minh's wonton behavior toward Keen in the detention facility sickened her. She had all but thrown herself at the Elemental point commander. The normally demure woman had been completely shameless.

She spent much of the night thinking about the bondswoman, finding it difficult to fall asleep. There were things that she had wanted to tell Minh and she was dissatisfied that she had not done so. The girl had no idea the trouble she had caused. Not only was Keen's training program threatened, but he was in danger of losing his position of leadership. Minh's unreliability was an indication of the fallacy of Keen's plan. Why had she come back? It was obvious that she had been sheltered. The girl's own fate was uncertain, as well. She had not been starving, no not at all. Salen pounded her pillow at that thought with disapproval as she sought to become comfortable.

There was no need for her to return, so why had she?

Salen decided that it would have been better if Minh had been shot. Before she was through with her, perhaps Minh would reach the same conclusion.

xxXxxxXxx

In the early morning, Minh was waiting by the door that led to the exterior stairs. She was dressed in a leotard and running shorts. Exercise sandals were laced to her feet and up her ankles. Her hair was in a ponytail, tied to itself in a simple knot.

Her night had been mostly sleepless as she lay on the bare mattress of her bunk. For a pillow, she used a folded jumpsuit that had been rolled up into a tubular shape.

The women made their displeasure for her known by being noisy as they visited the water fountain, which was just outside the shower room by Minh's bunk. From experience, Minh knew that such frequent trips at night were not common. However, it was one way they could disrupt her sleep. In voices not quite whispering, they complained to the night sentry at the injustice of the threatened punishment. They declared that they would not put up with any trouble from Minh. Others did not speak, but "accidentally" bumped into Minh's bunk as they made their way to the water fountain.

Minh could not blame them for their fear. After all, the situation was out of their control. Minh's actions had not been their fault. She wanted to reassure them that she did not want to cause them trouble. That the women avoided her had made that difficult to accomplish. Short of physically grabbing someone and throwing her down, there was nothing she could do to without causing the trouble they feared.

There were things Minh wanted to tell Salen, as well. She hoped that Salen would have calmed down after a good night's sleep. Perhaps she would be able to reason with the MechWarrior and get her to rescind her punishment pledge. Minh was uncertain as to how to proceed. As a young woman, she did not have the experience or training a clan warrior received. In the Draconis Combine, much of her martial indoctrination came to her late in life, often second hand from veteran soldiers. Such reasoning was not her own. She was not sure how to communicate with someone like Salen. Salen had been adversarial, like when she took issue with Minh's head band and dress. It was as if she had suffered personal insult.

She had risen at the appointed time and quietly dressed, having slept fitfully. Despite her discouragement, she was thankful that Henna had a spare bar of soap and a towel. She would need to wash after her work out. She would not be getting her linen issue until after breakfast.

Salen entered the door, a surprised look on her face upon finding Minh waiting. An unpleasant look of surprise, that is.

_She hoped to find me still asleep and drag me from my bunk_, Minh thought, realizing that Salen was still angry.

"Give me your hand," Salen pointed and Minh held out her right hand. Salen wrapped a woven white rope around her wrist once and tied it securely. It was a replacement bond cord.

"Thank you," Minh said, her voice low to keep from disturbing the women still sleeping.

Salen ignored her.

Minh followed the MechWarrior out of the barracks. At the bottom of the stairs, she threw herself down in Salen's path.

"What do you think you are doing?" Salen demanded.

"I beg for your forgiveness!" Minh blurted with her face to the ground. "I ask you to reconsider-."

"Get on your feet!" Salen commanded, trying to step around the crouching woman. Minh scooted sideways, remaining in Salen's way. She tried to apologize again.

"Get up!" Salen ordered in exasperation, kicking the bondswoman none too gently in the shoulder. Minh continued to plead her case, not rising. Her speech changed from English to Vietnamese as her voice became almost hysterical.

Glaring furiously, Salen reached down and tangled her fingers in Minh's hair. Gripping firmly, she pulled the smaller woman up. Rising involuntarily, Minh gasped in pain as she stood on her feet, then chattered in Vietnamese again.

"Stop speaking in that tongue! Nobody understands you anyway!" Salen commanded harshly. "Shut your face."

The lapse into her own language had been instinctive. Minh had not intended to do that, but she resisted the urge to explain herself. Salen was in no mood to listen to her at all. Instead, Minh found herself the focus of verbal onslaught.

"I thought you understood, Minh!" Salen charged furiously.

"I do not understand myself," Minh stated simply. After she spoke, she realized her folly. She should not have spoken. Her desire to express her point of view had caused her to speak up. In her present state of attitude, the MechWarrior had undoubtedly taken it as a challenge.

"I do not understand!" Salen mocked her. _I am not that mad_, she thought to herself, then changed her mind. _Yes, I am that mad. In for a gram, in for a kilo_.

"You are a bondswoman. It is not your place to think, you little idiot!" Salen suddenly unloaded, startling the other woman with her ferocity. "How dare you behave in such a manner!"

_Where is she going with this?_ Minh remained silent, not wishing to ask for more of the tirade than she was going to get.

"We accepted you into this trinary, treating you with dignity and care and this is the result! This is obviously a waste of effort!"

_What acceptance? What trinary is she talking about?_ With the exception of the Elemental point she served, the rest of the trinary did not even tolerate her presence. As for her relationship with Salen, Minh had believed that they had become friends. That seemed to be all that Salen had observed.

"You almost killed yourself and I was stupid enough to feel sorry for you."

So that was why Salen's attitude had changed towards Minh after her attempted suicide. It was not friendship. Instead, she had been treated with kindness born of pity, not respect. That was the ultimate humiliation. Salen rolled on, showing no sign of losing momentum.

"The spaceport was closed down for two days while we searched for you. Not only did you disrupt the base here, but DropShip schedules were interrupted as well.

"We had shoot on sight orders for your sorry hide. Did you know that?

"Keen had orders to kill you last night. You did not know that, did you? He talked the star colonel out of it, but I wish he had not. Given the opportunity, I would happily snap your neck myself after what you have done."

As out of shape as Minh was, Salen knew it would be too easy to take her down. Minh had filled out. Her svelte, almost willowy form was gone.

"You are on probation. Do you understand what "probation" means?"

Minh shook her head negatively. It was not that she did not know, but that she was afraid that it would have a second meaning. Much like the word 'decimate' did.

"Your conduct will be carefully monitored. If you are found wanting, the star colonel will reinstate your death sentence, but he will not discuss it with Keen."

Minh cocked her head sideways. Keen was her bond holder. It was highly peculiar that he would not be consulted about her.

"I will be the one to end the probationary period," Salen had declared that she would be Minh's executioner. The way she said it, there was no mistake that Salen would have no compunction about carrying out the death sentence.

The small woman before her was miserable, but Salen wanted to really devastate her. Salen had been betrayed by Minh's escape. Her anger was not so much a result of the insult of escape as it was a display of Minh's distrust. It was not something she cared to admit to anyone. A warrior was not supposed to have personal feelings. A warrior was not supposed to care about the thoughts of others. All that mattered was superior skill and ability. Then she remembered that Minh had been concerned about Keen's previous relationship with Suni.

"At least Suni was here to give Keen comfort when you left him," Salen said, feigning a nonchalant tone.

The resulting shock on Minh's face was most pleasing.

Salen was surprised by her own vindictiveness. She did not just want to teach Minh a lesson, she wanted to emotionally destroy her.

"And just so that you understand," Salen paused, placing emphasis on the last word. Minh waited expectantly, knowing she would not like what would come next. The feeling of dread felt heavy in the pit of her stomach.

"I have no compunction about killing you."

xxXxxxXxx

Minh accompanied Salen to the nature trail in meek silence. The nature trail was what Minh called the running path inside the woodland. It was still dark when they arrived. The trees were shrouded in predawn gloom. The Elementals seemed identical, and even more massive in the shadows. Minh could identify each one by his movement and mannerism. There were only four. She was positive that it was Keen who was absent before she figured out who each one was.

Advancing with authority, Batiste approached the two women. Minh wanted to greet him, but she did not get the opportunity.

"Start running now," he pointed at the trail. "Do not stop until I tell you."

Minh ran in the darkness, appalled by the vehemence of her Elemental point. Although she was unable to see their faces, their body language revealed their disfavor. This was not how she had visualized the reunion. It had not occurred to her that these people were not her friends. She had always been alone, but this desolation sapped her spirit. The curving path straightened out before her. She squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears from forming.

Minh knew that these people could act like this. Could they really be the descendants of Kerensky's Star League Army?

She was suddenly struck in the face by a hard fist. She fell, clutching her head as she skidded on her backside. A flash of anger fired her spirit in the belief that she had been attacked. She looked for her assailant past her hands, but she was alone. She must have strayed off the path and run into a low hanging branch. The force of impact had knocked her down, but her momentum had carried her forward underneath the tree limb.

Dazed and disoriented, she remained sitting on the ground next to the trail. At first, she did not fully comprehend what had happened. It had been a moment of inattention and she berated herself for it. It should not have happened. She felt so stupid, promising herself to get self control.

Her eye hurt, the pain spreading through her cheekbone. Cautiously, she felt her face with shaking hands. The nerves of her stinging skin complained at her touch. She encountered a sticky substance and loose skin yielded to her probing fingers. She could smell the sharp tang of tree sap. Carefully exploring with her fingertips, she decided the rough-textured skin was actually the paper thin bark from the bough she had run into. She peeled it from her face, wincing at the pain as it stubbornly clung to her skin. Examining it in the dim light of morning, she was relieved to confirm it to be as she suspected. It was sap covered tree bark.

She could hear the rapid cadence of approaching foot falls. She did not want to be caught stopped on the trail. The punishment for disobedience would surely be more than an Elemental-sized strike.

Picking herself up, she found herself on wobbly legs. She wanted to rest but she had no choice. No one had given her permission to stop. She began running again. Moments later, a large figure passed her. From his growl at her, she knew it was Anton. Despite the heat her exertions had generated, she felt a chill from his enmity.

As she stumbled along, the Elementals caught up and passed her by at regular intervals. Minh assumed the reason they were running separately was to keep an eye on her. If she dared to slack off, they would catch her at it. Of Salen, she did not see her go by at all.

As she ran on, a pain developed in her side within her ribs. She was out of shape. Really out of shape. Her tortured lungs burned and her breathing aggravated her dry throat. She had been running too fast and hard. She realized that she needed to pace herself. With every other footfall, her thin voice punctuated her panting breaths. The pain in her head throbbed with each impact of her feet.

By the time she reached the end of the trail, Minh was at the end of her endurance as well. Since she had missed eating two meals the day before, she lacked the reserves to maintain a steady pace. She wanted to stop, but dared not to without instruction. The warriors watched her as she tried to decide where to run next. Her feet hit the ground heavily, lacking grace as well as her reserves. The trail had nearly come full circle, returning to the other side of the clearing from where she had started. She was afraid that she would be made to her repeat the course and she just did not have it in her. Salen stood in the clearing, showing no signs of having run the course. Beside her, Batiste made an imposing figure with his arms crossed.

"You can stop," Batiste commanded.

Minh fell to her hands and knees on the grass. She suddenly retched, spewing what little contents were in her belly. Lost in her own misery, she did not hear Salen's snort of disgust.

Minh panted, her chest heaving. She silently cursed her small lung capacity. She coughed once more, then spat repeatedly to clear the sour taste from her mouth. She felt something slip along her face and she wiped it away with the back of her hand. She looked at her hand, barely comprehending the red smear of blood mixed in with the tree sap.

She was about to wipe her hand on the grass when a hand firmly gripped her chin. Her face tilted up and she saw Salen look down at her distastefully. The MechWarrior examined her critically. In addition to the facial injury, Minh had red scratches on her arms and legs. Covered with dirt and plant stains, it was obvious that she had taken a tumble somewhere.

"What did you do?" she demanded with displeasure. Lacking sufficient breath, Minh was unable to respond.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen escorted Minh to the infirmary. Arriving unannounced, there was no one waiting for them. The only person on hand was a med tech sleeping on a bed. She lay on her side with her back to the room's lighting. Salen roused her by kicking the frame of the bed. The tech rolled over and sat up.

"Minh?"

It was Katya, the first bondswoman Minh had ever met. She was no longer a bondswoman, but now a novice medical technician. The untrained med tech had the night watch in the infirmary because she was junior to the other med specialists. The surprised look on her face changed to concern as she quickly took in her small friend's appearance.

"Here, sit down," she rose from the bed. As Minh sat down, Katya went to a desk and pushed a button on an intercom. After several moments, someone answered. Katya announced one patient, then she returned to Minh.

"What happened?" she asked.

Minh opened her mouth to respond when Salen cut her off.

"Shut up, Girl! I have not given you permission to speak."

Katya glared at the MechWarrior, angry with the belief that she had hurt Minh. With Minh's black eye, it looked to Katya as if she had been beaten. It was obvious that she wanted to take issue with Salen, but apparently had the common sense not to say anything. However, her anger was conspicuous in her expression.

"It was not-."

"Remember 'decimation'?" Salen interrupted Minh.

Minh felt even more miserable. She did not want Katya to misunderstand the circumstance. She wanted to set the story straight, but it was not worth causing the other women trouble. Salen was satisfied with what she saw in the two women. Katya did not concern her. Let the medical technician be upset. As for Minh, she deserved to suffer for her folly.

"What has Minh done to deserve this?" Katya's demand seemed to echo Salen's thoughts. Katya could see that Minh was under some sort of duress. She did not approve of the situation.

"I do not answer to you, tech!" Salen declared. "You are not Doc. I do not have to put up with your disrespect."

Katya was saved from retorting by the arrival of another med tech. Minh recognized the tech, but she did not know the woman's name. Ignoring the warrior, the tech leaned down and looked directly into Minh's eyes. The injured woman did not appear dazed, but alert and responsive.

"Good. No sign of shock," she said. Straightening up, she turned to Katya. "Okay, clean her up. I want to see what is beneath this mess." Stepping back, she watched the junior med tech set to work.

When Katya had cleaned around the eye, the med tech examined Minh again, this time using a pen light. With the light so close, her eye watered from the intense glare.

"There is no damage," the tech commented. "Go ahead and put an analgesic on the cut and put a bandage on it. Put nothing on her eye, but give her a cold pack to hold on it. That should keep the swelling down."

When Katya was done, Salen jerked her thumb at the door.

"You wasted enough time this morning," she said impatiently.

"Perhaps if you had not beaten her, your time would not have been wasted," Katya said.

"Really?" Salen said in a deceptively cool voice. She gave Minh a measuring look. The other tech saw the distress in Minh's expression at Katya's interference.

"Kat, let it go," she said. She saw a look of relief appear on Minh's face. She did not know what was going on with the bondswoman, but she did not want Katya drawn into it. After all, it was no secret that Minh was major trouble. She did not want any of her own people to get caught in it, especially one with as much promise as Katya.

Minh followed Salen back to her barracks. The MechWarrior maintained a brisk pace. Minh almost had to run to keep up.

"Hurry and wash up. I will take you to breakfast," Salen instructed her. She watched the small woman go up the stairs and go into the building.

The women were just rising when Minh entered the bunk room. Unlike the evening before, they said nothing derisive. In fact, they were silent as they stared at her, seeing the cold pack that Minh held to her face. Humiliated by the attention, she was unable to summon the nerve to look back at them. Keeping her head down, she proceeded to get herself washed.

After washing and drying herself, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was appalled by the appearance of her savaged eye. The skin around it was puffy and had already taken a dark tint. The white bandage at the side only served to call attention to the discoloration. Despite the cold pack, her eye had still swelled up. It was getting harder to see through the injury.

Taking a moment, she experimented with her damp hair. Using her fingers like a comb, she pulled some hair down and let it hang over half of her face. While causing some irritation to her blackened eye, it did conceal it like a shroud.

Returning to her bunk, Minh dressed. As she had discovered the previous evening, her coveralls fit snugly, especially at thighs and hips. Before she had run away, they had been loose and comfortable. She did not like the way her figure showed against the tight fabric.

Salen arrived as Minh sat on the floor to put her shoes and socks on. Minh wondered how Salen had showered and dressed so quickly. Without a word, the MechWarrior gripped Minh by her collar and lifted her to her feet. Minh was unable to get her shoes on while Salen impatiently dragged her out of the barracks.

Salen permitted Minh to finish dressing at the entrance to the warrior dining facility.

"You are not going to make me look bad in here," she insisted.

_But it is okay to look bad outside, me with one sock on and the other foot bare_, Minh thought with ironic cynicism.

"Walk in front so I can keep an eye on you," Salen instructed her when she was finally dressed.

Minh led the way, walking past the dining tables to the serving counter in the back of the room. The warriors here had never approved of her presence, so their hostile looks at her were no surprise. One of them was in the act of sitting down when he caught sight of her. He looked at his tray and sighed.

"Well, there goes my appetite," he said, shaking his head. He rose up and took his tray away to discard the contents without eating.

Minh recognized him, remembering his name even though she had never been introduced to him. It was the MechWarrior Rick. She also remembered that he harbored a serious grudge against her.

Minh arrived at the counter and picked up a tray. The warm smells coming from self service bar whetted her hunger. With a pair of tongs, she picked out a sticky bread. When she tried to get a second one, Salen took the tongs from her hand.

"You are on a diet," she said. "Only one." She directed Minh to ladle a modest amount of hot cereal and scrambled eggs. While she was being directed, a food service technician brought out a fresh pan of sausages.

"Ah, Minh! Welcome back!" he greeted her.

Minh looked up at the man in surprise. It was Grigsby, also known to her as 'Cook'. Minh wanted to return his greeting, but her treatment by Salen had made her cautious. She looked up to Salen for permission to respond. The MechWarrior narrowed her eyes in answer. Remaining silent, Minh lowered her face in shame. Salen took her to the table where the Elementals were already eating, then went to sit somewhere else to eat.

Minh had just sat down when she stood up again. She wanted to get a glass of juice to go with her breakfast. A large hand gripped her shoulder and slammed her back down.

"Eat," Anton growled at her.

"I want to get-."

"Shut up," Batiste said. Minh risked looking up at him. Familiar as she was with his bronzed face and hairless scalp, she realized that she did not know this man. She obediently complied with the Elementals' commands.

Once Minh had finished her meager breakfast, she was not permitted to leave the table. Unlike before, the Elementals did not add tidbits of food to her tray. They did not say anything to her, but they did exchange comments with each other. Only once did they speak about her, saying it as if she were not present. They were of the opinion that she was overweight.

xxXxxxXxx

After breakfast, Minh accompanied the Elementals to the point's armory. It was a ferro-crete box-shaped building. Apart from the armored door, there were no other openings. Minh heard a knocking noise. It did not sound substantial enough for an Elemental to have done it and she looked up in curiosity. Their weapons tech Don had arrived just before the Elementals. He had beat on the door with his fist. Minh assumed that it was Keen who was inside, since he was the only member of the point she had yet to see. The door rattled as the small door behind the spy port was opened and closed. Minh did not look up at it. She heard the crossbar next just before the door opened.

It was Nagatake who admitted them. Minh was surprised to see him. Even more surprised to see that he no longer wore a bond cord. With his impassive expression, he backed against the desk and chair, yielding the door space to permit the newcomers to enter. It was evident he was not surprised to see her. Minh looked away from him.

The room was much as she remembered. There were five large boxes that held disassembled suits of Elemental powered armor. That was why each one had a handle on one end with power controls. Elemental armor had great weight, much more than an Elemental could casually carry. The large boxes were outnumbered by smaller sized heavy duty lock boxes.

Beyond the collection of boxes in the far wall were two doors leading to ammunition rooms. They were locked shut with a warning sign forbidding the presence of flammables and sparking items within the rooms. Minh had been inside the room holding the point's cache of small arms ammunition. There had been no reason for her to be in the other arms room that contained the short range missiles for the powered armor.

Along one side of the room was a work bench and a stool. A selection of rifles were laid out on the bench top, their actions open. The smell of bore cleaning solvent indicated that the weapons had just been cleaned.

"Prefires have been completed," Nagatake reported to Batiste.

Formerly Nagatake Tsubaki, a captain in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery, he had been Minh's commanding officer in the militia. Of Japanese heritage, he resembled Minh in appearance.

When Minh had escaped from Salen, Keen had been ordered to find and execute Nagatake. He was suspected of harboring rebellious tendencies also. Another reason was that word gotten back to the star colonel that the former DCMS officer had been instructing women in combat skills. Keen had taken Nagatake from his work detail unexpectedly. As they walked away, Nagatake asked if Minh had done anything. Keen merely looked down at the bondsman, the measuring look in his eyes chilling him. Nagatake explained to him that Stev Ch'in had come for him one time before, when Minh had tried to kill herself. Keen announced that Minh had escaped. Nagatake was surprised and said so. Minh had adapted to clan life so well that he could not relate to her anymore. Since Keen was in a mood to listen, Nagatake continued to talk. He admitted that it would be pointless for him to contemplate escape. Should he manage to return to the Draconis Combine, his only course of action would be to kill himself to make amends for his failures, both as an officer and representative of the dragon. He had been disgraced, what the clans would call dezgra, by his inability to properly lead his company. Worse, he had survived while the men and women subordinate to him had not. He would not wish to cheapen the sacrifice of his soldiers under his command by returning to the combine alive.

Keen had taken Nagatake with him in his search for Minh. It was during the search that Nagatake learned of the execution orders for both Minh and himself. A squad of armed men had confronted them, intending to take Nagatake into custody. The massively muscled man resisted the order. Even though he was unarmed, Keen made an intimidating opponent and the squad backed down. Keen declared his objective to utilize the bondsman for his own purposes and that he intended to make his intentions known to the star colonel. Nagatake had been surprised by the action, but a part of him wished that the Elemental had ended his life.

Keen had taken him under personal supervision, rehabilitating him instead. Nagatake was not to be a warrior, but an apprentice under the tutelage of the weapons tech Don. In doing so, Keen had taken great risk to give a former adversary almost complete access to the weapons. A clan adversary did not normally present such a liability, but Nagatake lacked that cultural background.

Minh would undergo rehabilitation now. Keen had carefully instructed Nagatake not to interfere with the process. Months before, he had been instrumental in turning her attitude. This time, he was forbidden from participating. He was not supposed to offer her any encouragement. Understanding the reasons did not make it easy.

"Very good," Batiste acknowledged. He turned to Minh and pointed to a corner in back of the room.

With all their emphasis on combat prowess, Nagatake felt that these clan warriors did not understand the subtleties of psychology. Using Minh as if she were a science project was as hit or miss as it was extreme. Given his record in her case, Nagatake had already demonstrated his own lack of psychological understanding.

Boots lined one wall of the corner where Minh had been sent. Each pair had a polishing kit set before it. There was also an empty bucket.

"You know what that is for," Batiste indicated the bucket.

"To wake you if you fall asleep," Keller laughed unpleasantly. The memory of being doused with cold water and having the emptied bucket dropped next to her head with a resounding clanging noise came to mind.

Minh filled the bucket only partway with water from the sink, then carried it back to her assigned corner. Keeping to herself, she spent the morning shining large boots. In the part of the room where she sat, the lack of air movement was almost stifling. The steady effort caused her to become heated and she removed the sweat from her face with her sleeve. It would not surprise her if the Elementals had somehow arranged for the corner to be unventilated.

As she bent over her work, her hair hung over her face like a tent. Her hair made her face itch, so she scratched with the back of her hand. She tried to be careful, avoiding touching her face with polish-stained fingers. At one point when she had paused to relax her tired fingers, she examined a smear of black polish on her hand and realized that she must have gotten some onto her face anyway.

She was aware that Nagatake was keeping an eye on her. She also noticed that Don seemed to be nervous, but it was her former commander who had his attention, not herself. She wondered what was going on.

Nothing was said, but while Minh worked, Nagatake opened the armory door and propped it open. The two techs moved their work from the workbench to the desk. Minh did not think the odor of shoe polish was that overpowering at all. She received no benefits of the open door from where she sat across the room. Without another door, or some sort of window to permit free air flow through the room, there was no air movement.

When she finished, her fingers ached and her arms were tired. She leaned back, arching her spine backwards to work out the stiffness. Her stomach rumbled. Her effort at polishing had used up what little reserve of energy she had gotten from her unsatisfying breakfast. She wondered if it was close to lunchtime. She did not have long to wait. Upon their their return from the shooting range, the Elementals found her standing by their footwear. No one so much as glanced at the results of her hard work. Even though they were inspection ready, she had expected them to mess up the shine at the very least. It was a sign to her that she was not worth the effort.

"You were instructed to shine those boots," Batiste did not even look at her as he placed his sidearm on the bench. She understood his comment to be a command to shine them all over again.

Kneeling back down, she began shining the shoes again, starting with his first. Her tired muscles complained. She had just fouled the reflective leather surface when she was stopped.

"You will do that after lunch."

Minh wanted to give Batiste a grateful look for the momentary reprieve, but she resisted the urge. She was of the opinion that he had waited for her to begin so he could stop her. Calculated to be inconsiderate, he was manipulating her in malice. With a feeling of spite, she was determined not to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was having any emotional effect on her. Silently, she accompanied the Elementals.

Minh's lunch was a repeat of breakfast. Again, she was prohibited from filling her tray, and thus her stomach, to satisfaction. Once more, their strict supervision did not make allowances for her to get a beverage.

Salen was already seated with another MechWarrior that Minh did not recognize. The star commander seemed to be amused by Minh's mussed appearance as she passed by.

At least I could have washed my face, Minh thought resentfully as she remembered the sink in the armory.

Minh tried to eat slowly, but in her famished state, her meal was over much too soon. When she was finished, she sat silently, not looking up from her plate. It was bad enough knowing that the Elementals were able to sate their hunger. She did not want to watch them do it.

The techs had already returned from their lunch when Minh was brought back to the armory. They were still at the desk by the open door. The air was still heavy with the odor of polish. Minh went back to her stifling corner.

When the Elementals left, she took the opportunity to get her fill at the sink, drinking directly from the faucet. Don had been speaking softly, but paused at the sound of her guzzling the water. Half-sprawled over the sink, she did not see Keller walk back into the armory. He looked at her for a long moment listening to her drink noisily.

"We will have a weapons and ammunition inventory tomorrow morning," he said to Don. "Make sure everything is ready." Minh flinched, pausing in her drinking. When nothing had been said to her, she began drinking in a quieter manner. When she finished, she went meekly back to work. Keller stood waiting for her.

"These really need polishing," he placed his boots in front of Minh as if she had not touched them yet. It was insulting. She had not even finished repolishing Batiste's. She stopped what she was doing and just sat there.

"Get started now."

Minh felt her face flush with anger. She stared at his boots without moving.

Keller squatted down and took her chin firmly in one strong hand. She glared back at him past the veil of hair that covered one eye.

"Must I knock some more sense into you?"

Keller had never struck her. Conscious of the techs watching, she could only assume that they would believe that it had been the Elemental who had "administered" her black eye. To permit him to continue that charade would be a lie. With her head held immobile, she could not shake her head. Then she realized that his question was a demand for an answer. With downcast eyes, she spoke up.

"Neg, Keller."

She expected him to squeeze her chin between his finger and thumb as a show of supremacy over her. Instead, he released his grip on her and, with his hand still in front of her face, pointed down at the boots with one finger.

With Keller crouched over her, she began to work on his boots. He watched her for a while, then stood and walked out.

After a minute, she stopped and stared at the buffing cloth in her hands. There was no point to the work she was performing. The only thing that was really being accomplished was that she was being frustrated. Without thinking about it, she used her father's favorite curse.

Startled by her vehement remark, Don looked at the bondswoman. He had heard her say that before, long ago when he was assigned to keep her under observation. He was about to ask what she had said when Nagatake stopped him with a touch of his hand. Turning his attention to Minh, Nagatake gave her a look of disapproval for that loss of self control. He did not understand Vietnamese, but some phrases were self evident by the tone of voice in which they were expressed.

Preoccupied with her thoughts, she did not notice the two men. If she had, she probably would not have cared. Minh did not think that the Elementals could have treated her worse than they had when she first met them. At that time, she was just a bondswoman, one who did not know any better. Now she was a bondswoman who had betrayed their trust. They had trusted her and she had paid them back with betrayal. If she had befriended someone and that someone had treated her in an untrustworthy manner, she did not think she would like that person neither.

xxXxxxXxx

For some reason, Batiste was already at the dining facility when the other Elementals brought her to eat. Distracted by her own curiosity, she was looking towards him and thus away from the serving line when there was a loud clattering next to her feet.

"You clumsy fool!" Anton snarled.

Minh had dumped her tray on the floor, scattering the contents. The mess was surprisingly large considering that her meal had barely filled a portion of the tray. She stooped to clean up the mess, but Anton seized her shoulder in a vise-like grip.

"Someone will clean that up," he said sternly. "Get another tray and stop wasting our time."

Minh miserably obeyed. The warriors witnessing the scene seemed uncomfortable, almost embarrassed. She had thought they would have enjoyed her discomfiture. During the meals she had partaken since her return to the base, they had become more watchful as the Elementals displayed their disdain for the bondswoman. She felt her humiliation grow as a result.

Minh ate her supper slowly. Minh did not like to sit idly by while the others ate their fill. Trying to savor the meal, she hoped to fool herself that her stomach was being satisfied. Preoccupied with her meal, she did not notice Batiste conclude his meal and leave.

As it turned out, Minh had eaten too slowly. She was forced to leave the table with her meal unfinished when the Elementals were through eating. Anton actually pulled her away from her seat by the scruff of her collar. There had been no encouragement to finish. By placing her tray on his own to carry it away, Anton denied Minh the opportunity to finish eating on her way out. In fact, he continued to disparage the amount of food she had on her tray to begin with, especially since she had wasted a whole tray full already.

She continued to be dissatisfied and hungry.

xxXxxxXxx

It was in Anton's custody that Minh had been returned to her barracks. As they arrived, they encountered Batiste descending the exterior stairway. Greeting Anton as they passed each other, he did not look at her. Standing beneath the notice of the towering man, she felt as insignificant as an unwanted child. Minh watched Batiste walk away for a moment before Anton nudged her and pointed up the stairs. Dejectedly, she obeyed the silent command and went up the stairs.

Entering the bunk room, she was aware that the women were staring at her. There was an expectant air, as if they knew something that she did not. She was sure that it had something to do with Batiste's visit. When she reached her bunk, Henna walked up to her from her office.

"I'm sorry, Minh," she said. "If I had a choice, I would not do this."

Minh remained silent, waiting for what she knew would be bad news. Henna placed a comradely brown hand on her shoulder.

"I have to put you to work," she continued. "It'll be every evening, but you won't have to stand watches."

_At least I can get a full night of sleep_, Minh thought. _At least, provided that no one will keep waking me up in fits of pique_.

"I'm really sorry about this," Henna said.

The older woman seemed to expect a response from the bondswoman. Minh had nothing to say. There was nothing she could say. She shrugged her shoulders, hoping to convey that she held no hard feelings. That seemed to be enough.

Moving two sets of bunks out of the way, Minh had to scrub wax from the floor from the wall to the center aisle. She was expected to finish that section by lights out, in about three hours. Eventually, the plan was for her to strip the wax from the entire bunk room floor.

Using a pungent solution, she hand scrubbed the floor with a brush. With a scraper, she scooped up the waxy gunk and put it in a bucket. In addition to the foul smell, it was a filthy mess. She found that the chemicals bleached out the pigment of her jumpsuit as she worked on her hands and knees. She decided that those ruined coveralls had become her floor stripping uniform. She would not ruin her other uniforms doing this.

The floor scrubbing was much like shoe polishing. Monotonous and repetitive, there was no mental challenge. Far from being mind numbing, her thoughts dwelled on what brought her to this point in her life. She was heartily tired of it all. She could not help feeling the regret that surfaced with her thoughts. Every rash action she had taken ever since she left home seemed to sit heavy in her belly. The unsettling discontent, the noxious odor, and her incessant hunger combined to make her ill.

It seemed that she was always making poor choices. Everything she tried to do for herself had come to ruin. She had joined the militia to escape an unwanted marriage. She had spurned the clan way and had run away. By coming back, she had only caused herself more grief. Her interrogation upon her return only convinced her that she had gotten clean away. No one had been looking for her, believing that she had somehow gotten off planet. Could she have stayed in the countryside? After all, she had regretted her own culture's farm life, which in turn caused her to run to the militia. She had been able to run from the clan. She could do it again. As her self analysis turned circles in her mind, she found herself scrubbing harder and faster.

_Stop that!_

Minh paused in her furious scouring and straightened her back. Leaving the brush on the floor, she stretched her arms up and back over her head. Her spine made a popping noise.

_This stops now_.

She would not run away again, now that she was back. They would not make her. She was through running. Never mind that the welfare of the other women in the barracks rested on her own conduct. That threat was not necessary.

Minh returned to the abusive punishment with renewed resolve.

xxXxxxXxx

The next day, Minh had accomplished her morning run without mishap. She felt sick to her stomach, but managed to resist throwing up the limited contents within her belly.

After breakfast, she was informed that the Elementals did not want their shoes worn out by her constant polishing. She was given a new assignment. She would remove the paint from outside of the armory and prepare the walls for repainting.

A simple scaffolding was set up to permit her to begin at the top of the walls. While she scraped and sanded the walls, one of the techs was detailed to watch her work. At no time did she ever lack supervision.

After lunch, she was included in the Elemental's martial training. It was not the privilege that it had been months before. Salen had escorted Minh from her barracks to a clearing near the running trail. The grounds there provided a variety of surfaces ranging from dirt and sand to grass and mossy undergrowth. There were several well worn areas that indicated frequent bouts were held there. The Elementals stopped their training at the approach of the women.

"There is no need for the star commander to sully her hands on this," Batiste said in a formally distasteful manner to Salen. To Minh, it sounded like he had left his statement unfinished, as if he been about to say 'this thing'. In response, Salen waved her hand as if she were brushing away an annoyance.

After providing Minh with a few minutes to warm up, she first faced Wendal. Of all of Keen's subordinates, Minh had considered Wendal the most gentle and easy going. However, as an opponent, he was completely unyielding.

Minh did not have the same skill she did before when practicing against the Elementals. Her attacks were useless and she was thrown aside repeatedly. Each time, Wendal beckoned her to attack again. After a dozen times, she was exhaustively winded. He then made his own attack. Minh had expected his signal to attack again, so she was caught by surprise by his lunge. His palm struck her high on the shoulder and she spun backwards. Off balance, she went down hard. She tried to roll, but landed awkwardly on top of her arm. Her ribs hurt from the impact on the hard ground and her shoulder hurt from being wrenched. She coughed a couple of times, then rolled slowly to a sitting position. Wendal had stepped several meters away and stood impassively, his arms crossed over his chest. Minh could detect no sign that he was cared one way or another about her fall.

It was Batiste who examined her, gripping her arms with a firm hand, then probing her ribs with a straight finger while she struggled to get her air back. She felt faint from shortness of breath and desperately wanted to give in, if only for a few moments of peaceful oblivion.

"No broken bones," he decided. Minh just stared at him. She did not have the strength to pick herself up from the sand. "You are clumsy as a result of soft, self indulgent living."

It was evident to everyone present that Minh had lost the smooth grace she had possessed months before. She was out of shape from having performed no practical exercise and eating too much food.

"Just watch," he ordered and the Elementals continued practicing around her. In a muddled daze, she barely comprehended the activity around her. As her lungs finally began pulling in oxygen, she felt humiliated by his contemptuous tone.

The middle of a melee was not the best place to observe technique, but it seemed safer to remain in place rather than risk moving through a battle zone. She did not notice Salen until the MechWarrior gave her a hard nudge with her toe from behind.

"Get off your lazy duff and fight me," she commanded. Minh took to her feet and Salen drove her mercilessly in hand-to-hand practice.

"You can do better than that!" Salen taunted her. No matter what Minh tried, Salen still bested her. In addition to the blocks and throws, Salen took cheat shots. After several slaps and pokes, Minh began to develop a temper and said something in Vietnamese. Salen took immediate offense.

"You have something to say, you will say it in English."

"Make me," Minh challenged.

"You think you are a tough girl?" Without waiting for an answer, Salen went to where the Elementals had left their practice gear and returned with a sheathed fighting knife. Unsnapping the holding strap, she pulled the sheath free and let it drop.

"You talk a lot of nonsense for someone who cannot back it up," Salen continued to verbally harangue Minh, waving the blade around for emphasis. "I thought you combine people were disciplined. That just goes to show what I know. After all, if you had an inkling of discipline, you would not have let yourself become so weak and ineffectual!"

"Here!" she tossed the knife to Minh. "Put yourself out of our misery! Maybe you can do it right this time!"

Minh barely caught the knife, cutting her palm before she could get control of it. She saw the disdain in Salen's eyes. Anger and hatred rose up like bile from deep inside her guts. She could remember when Salen had electro-whipped her. She had shown no real emotion, not even pleasure. Now she was different, displaying an eagerness to release her hostile emotions unto Minh.

"What are you waiting for? Have you no honor? Oh, I forgot. You are mercenary militia," Salen sneered. "You only volunteered for the militia for what you could get out of it. There is no honor in that."

Having been given the knife, she was being goaded into killing herself. This unrealistic situation was totally unbelievable. That last comment about her honor was completely uncalled for. Minh could recognize that Salen was being overtly confrontational, but it did not make the words any less hurtful.

She held the knife up, her grip on the pommel so tight that her fingers were white. Suddenly she dashed it away to the side and behind her, not even thinking about where it would go. The knife skittered past Batiste's feet.

"You will not rid me that easy. You will have to kill me yourself," Minh grated. "If you can."

Her words proved to be empty bravado. Salen tore into the smaller women, knocking her off of her feet and pinning her to the ground. She could have killed Minh if she so chose. Salen looked down at Minh with contempt, disgusted at Minh's lack of challenge. The woman had tried to fight back when Salen took her down, but her effort had been futile. Unable to get free, Minh did the only thing she could to get back at the MechWarrior. In an insulting tone, she spoke in Vietnamese.

"I told you to speak English!" Salen spat out each word.

Minh did not feel satisfied, even though she had gotten the desired result. Her defiant anger had brought her down to Salen's level.

"You are not so tough!"

Minh could think of nothing to say. Coming to her senses, she realized that she was in no position to smart off. Lacking energy reserves, she had been unable to maintain any semblance of resistance. Salen could feel the agitation leave her.

Releasing Minh, she picked herself up and brushed herself off. She made no attempt to help the bondswoman to her feet.

"Tomorrow," Salen turned her back and stalked away from the practice field, muttering angrily. Apparently, training was over for the day.

With careful effort, Minh got back to her feet.

xxXxxxXxx

Salen made her report to Keen. Although she outranked him, he was in charge of the project to rehabilitate Minh.

He had been keeping his distance from Minh. For the plan to be successful, he had to let the others do the dirty work. His heart was not in it and he wondered about that. Something akin to instinct warred with his methodology, threatening to keep him from following through with what had to be done.

He felt a strong affection for the small bondswoman. The depths of his feelings surprised him. He remembered her expression when she appealed to him. She wanted some sign from him and he had not dared to give it. He dared not let her see his pleasure in her return. It was that affection that prevented him from dealing with her as the star colonel wanted. The star colonel wanted to have her broken. The only way to save her was to risk destroying her.

He wondered if his logic made him any less of a warrior.

Salen had thrown herself into the star colonel's plan. She had taken what Minh had done very personally. It showed in her recent treatment of the bondswoman. His point of Elementals did not have that emotional investment, but that did not make their efforts any less dedicated.

It was ironic that Keen was glad that Minh had run away. When he admitted as much to Salen, she rounded on him in angry astonishment.

"How can you say that? All the time she was gone, you acted as if a part of you were dead."

Regarding her silently, Keen raised one eyebrow. He had never been melodramatic.

"You were not yourself," Salen continued, explaining her thoughts. "You were less stoic, more angry, more Elemental."

"I am an Elemental."

Salen gave an irritated snort.

"She returned by choice," Keen explained. "She did not have to come back, yet she did so anyway. We must ensure that her choice is true."

"You say 'we'," Salen commented thoughtfully. "You intend to increase your involvement?"

"I am relying on you to push Minh through her limits. You have a way of breaking through to her, of getting her to respond even when she would not wish to."

"And if she fails our test?"

"There is more to her than meets the eye. I knew that when I pried her out of her tank." He thought back to that day. The battle had seemed over, the last tank knocked out of commission. Keen had been about to detail his point to search for survivors when the last tank swiveled it's turret toward Salen's Hellbringer heavy BattleMech. Augmented by his powered armor, he had leaped onto the tank and peeled the armor plate away from the front of the turret. That was his first view of Minh. Distracted from her gun sight, a startled expression was plain on her face. But it was her eyes, those dark eyes, that he remembered most. He saw no fear, no panic, no hysteria. After a very short moment, she dismissed him as something beyond her immediate control. Before he could stop her, she had returned to her gun sight and fired the gauss rifle at Salen's 'Mech.

"She did not look much older than a girl," Salen commented. Keen remembered her anger when the two women met face to face. Salen had been angry that a "little girl" had put up such resistance in combat against a clan MechWarrior.

xxXxxxXxx

The next day, it was Minh's personal objective to make amends to Salen. She was concerned that her conduct the day before would travail the other women. The challenge was to choose the best time to speak to the MechWarrior. It had already been demonstrated that Salen was impatient and unapproachable first thing in the morning. It was when the women faced each other in the practice field that Minh felt confident enough to talk.

"Yesterday, I spoke in haste. I was angry," She told Salen carefully. "I wish to take my words back."

"So you think you can speak to warriors with disrespect? Not only that, but you dared to issue challenge to me, even though you are just a bondswoman. If you think you can weasel out of your obligation by withdrawing those ill chosen words, you are sadly mistaken," Salen coolly informed her.

Salen looked past Minh and her harsh expression hardened. Minh looked back and saw Keen. Distracted, she never saw Salen strike her. Minh spun and fell, belatedly realizing that she had been tricked into looking away. She was further surprised when Salen followed up on her attack.

As Minh tried to pick herself up, Salen moved in close. Lightning quick, the vicious jabs had no trouble getting through her lack of defense. Salen purposely struck from Minh's "blind" side, striking her in the head near her eye. Minh hit the ground again, gaining a bloody nose as she tried to shield her face from the assault with her own forearm.

Soundly beaten down, Minh tried to rise. The side of her head throbbed with pain. The aches in her body intensified as she moved. She tried to gather herself for a counterattack, but her legs faltered and she collapsed in a heap.

"Pathetic whelp!" Salen said in disparagement as she contemptuously walked away.

Minh responded breathlessly in Vietnamese.

"You seem to have a memory problem. Or is it a learning problem? I told you before to speak English!" Salen declared. "Perhaps I should not have ended this lesson?"

The MechWarrior paused in suggestion of continuing the beating. Painfully, Minh crouched down, her huddling body seeming to seek cover against the ground. Her hair pooled below her face as she pressed her forehead to the dirt.

"I speak English," she affirmed in a voice barely loud enough to be heard, the pain in her side sapping her strength.

"How the mighty have fallen," Anton's derisive comment did not carry beyond the other watching Elementals.

"It was an uneven match," Keller sounded sympathetic to Minh.

"Would you rather it have been one of us that dished out punishment on her?" Batiste asked him. "In her soft state, she would not have survived."

Minh, uncaring that the the Elementals were speaking among themselves, pushed herself back into a seated position. Deep in thought, she absently wiped at the blood beneath her nose, smearing it with the back of her hand. She wondered why Salen was so difficult to apologize to. It was as if she did not want to hear it, that she wanted to drag out the situation as long as she could. It ran contrary to polite combine conventions. Totally foreign to her way of thinking, Minh did not understand it.

So be it. If that was how Salen wanted to behave, Minh would oblige her.

Batiste was standing over her as she regained her feet. When she looked up at him, he silently pointed toward the base. She could not see the buildings hidden by the trees that surrounded the clearing, but she knew the infirmary was in that direction. Taking the hint, she began walking with Batiste trailing her.

Katya was reporting on the overnight activity to the morning shift medical tech when the two arrived. The morning tech was first to notice their arrival. Katya glanced in their direction, then stopped in mid sentence.

Seeing the small woman's bloodstained face, Katya was instantly angry. She believed that Batiste had beaten Minh, but had the presence of mind to keep that suspicion to herself. It was never wise to rile Elementals, after all. Despite the misplaced blame, Minh got some pleasure from that measure of unspoken sympathy from her friend. If Batiste noticed the implied accusation, he did not attempt to set the record straight. He merely looked impassively at the novice medical technician. Katya did not press the subject.

The morning tech checked to make sure that Minh's nose was not broken before permitting Katya to clean her up. She examined her eyes and measured her pulse. Determining that the small woman was not in shock, she turned her over to Katya's care.

Clucking her tongue, she spoke to Batiste about Minh's failure to keep her battered eye from swelling up.

"The bondswoman is not noted for her conscientiousness," the Elemental rumbled, dismissing the matter as unimportant.

xxXxxxXxx

The long work hours took their toll on Minh. She slept as if dead to the world. The following morning, the bunk room sentry had been unable to rouse her. When Salen arrived to take her to morning exercise, it was with no small pleasure that she dragged the smaller woman from her upper level bunk, awakening her in the process. She sagged to the floor, but the MechWarrior held her up by the arm.

Minh had been positive that she had risen when the sentry had awakened her. It had only been a dream that she had dressed and was waiting for Salen. In reality, with dread in her stomach, she had not wanted to rise and promptly went back to sleep.

Minh leaned against the bunk, still very sleepy. Salen shook her roughly, causing her to fall onto the lower bunk. The woman there complained at the disturbance.

"Wake up!" Salen impatiently prodded the hapless bondswoman.

xxXxxxXxx

At the running trail, Minh carefully paced herself as she ran the course. Tired as she was, she knew she had to husband her strength. She still had some breath left as she arrived back at the clearing. She derived some pleasure from that accomplishment and it showed on her face.

Waiting for her, Batiste and Salen were scowling. They could not miss seeing Minh's expression.

"Run it again," Salen nodded her head to the beginning of the course.

"This time, go faster," Batiste said unpleasantly. "You are taking too long."

Having paused for barely a moment after her run, Minh obeyed them. The two warriors followed close on her heels.

"Hustle it!" Batiste growled. "I do not want to see you stopping."

"You slept in. This should be no problem for one as well rested as you," Salen declared. "Pick up your feet!"

Midway in her run, Minh collapsed on the path. Half curled in the dirt, she wheezed as she clutched her sides. Batiste commanded her to get back up, but Minh just lay there. Her only answer was to breathe heavily. He nudged her hard with his foot. Apart from being slid by his forceful contact, she did not move. Salen walked up and beckoned him to lower his head to her level. She spoke softly into his ear. He nodded, then turned his attention back to Minh.

"Does the term 'decimate' mean anything to you?" he asked her.

Minh made a noise, similar to a whimper but not unlike a growl. She got her legs underneath her, then propped herself up on her knees in the dirt trail. She turned her head and looked directly at Salen. The naked hatred on her face was unmistakable.

Once she regained her feet, she staggered to a tree and leaned against it. She continued to stare at Salen, her chest heaving as she sought to regain her breath. Finally, she pushed off to propel herself down the path.

"If her eyes were lasers, you would be toasted now," Batiste commented.

"It would have been worth it to see her face," Salen chuckled.

"You are a hard woman, Star Commander."

"I know," Salen started to follow Minh. "And that girl is a real pain in the butt."

xxXxxxXxx

"Oof!" Minh hit the ground with a loud exhalation. She knew the Elementals had been holding back. She was thankful for that fact. However, that did not prevent them from using their superior size and skill to their advantage.

"You are making this too easy," Keller said to her. He had dumped the bondswoman to the ground repeatedly.

"She is game," Batiste observed.

"Aff, small game," Salen snorted derisively. "That almost sounded like admiration."

The two warriors were standing to the side watching the others practice. In comparison to Anton and Wendal being paired off in unarmed combat, Minh and Keller were obviously mismatched. With the two pairs weaving and maneuvering around each other, it sometimes became difficult to see every move they made. Thus was the case when Minh managed to connect with a kick, then pull Keller down to the ground by his neck.

"How did she do that?" Salen asked.

"He probably tripped over his own two feet," Batiste replied. "We cannot let this pass."

"Aff," Salen nodded. "Do it."

Anton and Wendal stopped their match to see Keller sit up in surprise. Minh had a pleased look on her face. Batiste left Salen's side and spoke to the other Elementals.

"Melee," he said.

The Elementals arrayed themselves around Minh. They were close enough together to restrict her movement. It was obvious to her that the Elementals were ganging up on her. They out massed her by twenty times. Their features were dark with menace.

"This is not zellbrigen," Minh stated. "This is not honorable one-on-one combat."

"Zellbrigen and honor are for warriors," Anton said. "You are less than a warrior. You are not entitled to be treated as a warrior."

_What is the point of trying to do my best if they seek to discourage my efforts?_ she wondered. From outside of the circle she could see Salen watching her. The MechWarrior crossed her arms with a humorless smile.

"I will show you 'honor'," Minh did not have any real choice. Escape was out of the question. If she tried to run past the men, they could easily catch her and put an end to the fight. By the same token, she could not wait for them to attack first neither. Her only hope was to attack them and keep them off balance.

Minh knew she had to remain out of the reach of their arms, which were much stronger than her own legs. That realization created her strategy. She could use her legs to neutralize their advantage against her.

_Better than nothing_, she thought.

Given the time she had spent in practice with these men, she was able to read their intentions in their body language. Anton did not seem to be gathering himself for attack, but he presented the immediate threat. She kicked out in his direction, then round kicked to the other side to keep Keller away from her back. Though tactically logical, her prediction was wrong. It was not Keller but Batiste who took advantage of her attacks against Anton and Keller. Instead of his arms, he also used his legs. His longer kick caught her at shoulder height as her own leg swung by underneath. Off balance, Minh fell onto her back.

_I should have foreseen that_, she berated herself.

As she tried to roll away from Batiste, Keller darted in. His foot stomped down, striking the ground between her elbow and ribcage, almost pinning her in place. Without thinking, she grabbed Keller's powerful shin and levered her legs up with a scissors kick. Keller stepped backwards to avoid her surprise move, pulling himself free from her grasp at the same time.

Balanced on her shoulders as she rolled upward, Minh stabilized herself on the ground in an impromptu handstand. Her legs continued to windmill in the direction of her kick. As they touched down, she pushed off with her hands and she straightened up. She could see that the Elementals were momentarily nonplused.

"I have never seen a move like that before," Keller commented.

"She will not have the opportunity to do that again," Anton promised.

Her sense of accomplishment quickly turned to hopelessness. The well trained Elementals could see through her every feint. Looking at Batiste, she made as if to charge him, then she quickly shifted to Anton. It was as if they knew when she intended to strike. None of her attacks went through. At the same time, she tried to keep away from their attacks in return. She kicked low, no higher than their knee level to prevent them from grabbing her foot.

The Elementals had strength, endurance, and numbers on their side. They did not have to really try to hit her. She could no longer kick, having used up her energy in making them keep their distance. It was all she could do to redirect their arms with her own, but only if she could see the attack coming. Her reflexes were dulled to the point of futility when a heavy handed strike knocked her forward into Anton. He pushed her away and she rebounded against Wendal and fell to the ground.

Batiste pulled her to her feet with a savage motion.

"Your opponent will not stop just because you are tired!" he said, sending her back into the melee.

The one sided contest degenerated into a juvenile shoving match. No matter who she tried to fight, someone else would send her flying. Much like her earlier clash with Salen, there was no semblance of mercy.

She wished they would put her out of her misery. Her desperation did nothing to improve her flagging endurance.

After several rounds with each Elemental, Minh could no longer even pretend to offer any resistance. It took all of her energy reserve just to prevent herself from getting seriously hurt from the throws and falls. The Elementals relentlessly traded her off. By not finishing the fight right away, they demonstrated that they were still holding back. Only it did not feel like it.

She was not aware when she lost her senses.

She was shocked to consciousness by a heavy spray of cold water on her flushed skin. She cried out, or tried to anyway. Only a gurgle sound forced itself from her vocal cords. Lying on her back, her limbs felt slack and she lacked the strength to move.

The unyielding ceramic tile beneath her and the steady shower of water clued her to the fact that she was in the women's wash room. Out in the bunk room, women were complaining about a man being in the barracks.

That man was Batiste, who was standing over her. None of the women dared to take issue of his presence to his face, not a powerful man like him, but they were confident enough to voice their objection from a separate room. He was looking down at her with contempt.

"Star Commander Salen has better things to do than nursemaid a worthless bondswoman like you," he said, explaining why it was he and not Salen that had brought her back to the barracks. He left Minh where she lay under the cascade of water, making it apparent that he was not about to nursemaid her any farther than necessary.

She was too weak to move herself, much less lift herself to turn the water off. She wanted to call out for assistance, but her voice failed her as well. She resigned herself to a long stay in the freezing shower.

The water had stopped running for several moments before she realized it. She became aware of Fal staring down at her with a strange smirk on her face.

"You really are frail," Fal commented. Turning away, she did not see the anger flare to life in Minh's eyes. An anger that rapidly faded to shame.

_I do not even have enough energy to keep a good mad on_, Minh thought dejectedly.

"Here. You cannot stay here," Henna stepped into Minh's view, startling her. The senior tech helped her up. "Fal has to finish cleaning the shower. Can you walk?"

Lacking the will to do more than undress, Minh lay in her bunk and slept the late afternoon away. It was only in the early morning when she awoke, hungry and muscle sore. Fal was on sentry duty and she followed her into the shower area.

"That MechWarrior woman tried to wake you for supper. She did not try very hard, I guess, since she did not drag you out of bed this time," she said.

Minh was worried that she might be in trouble for not working on the floor that evening. What was surprising was Salen's show of mercy in letting her sleep. After all, Salen had derived great pleasure from pulling her from her bunk the previous morning.

"You sure have a lot of bruises."

"I have a lot of enemies," Minh did not want to talk.

"That big guy did that?"

"They all did."

"They sure worked you over. What did you do to make them so mad?"

Minh had turned the water on. Dousing her head under the shooting water, she pretended not to hear the question. What had she done? She had knocked down an Elemental, but she did not want to admit that. Fal might not believe such a fantastic tale. Also, the Elementals had gone out of their way to show their displeasure at that feat. They wanted her to know that what she had done was not appropriate. Until she understood what she had done wrong, she would keep that information to herself.

She took her shower, thankful for the hot water that soothed her pains. To her relief, when she looked, she noticed that Fal had returned to her rounds as sentry.

xxXxxxXxx

When techs began spray painting the armory, another point of Elementals asked to borrow her so their armory could be painted as well. An agreement was made, an insulting bargain to Minh's point of view. As she lugged her scaffolding to that armory, she saw a familiar dusky Elemental with a pale crewcut. Minh recognized her with a pang in her heart. It was Suni. Salen's words came to mind as Minh observed the Elemental's smug expression. This was the woman Salen said whom had been giving comfort to Keen.

Suni watched her from the door, a cup of steaming liquid in her hand as Minh set up her scaffold. The small bondswoman was humiliated by the thought of this woman in private company with Keen. The Elemental seemed to enjoy her discomfiture.

It was several days before she was finished there. Being in close proximity with Keen's intimate acquaintance caused her to think about her own relationship with Keen. She acknowledged her own jealous nature, but realized that she had no real claim on her bondholder.

After working on the neighboring building, Minh was brought back to scrub the inside of her own armory. It had been obvious that the interior needed to be painted even before she tried to clean the surface. Then she had to sand it down and wash it again in preparation for painting. However, this time she was the one tasked with the painting. Instead of the spray rig equipment, she performed it with brush and roller.

The physical activity and training, in addition to her meager meals, caused a change in her figure. Her coveralls were no longer so tight around her waist and legs. The Elementals had taken every opportunity to put Minh through her paces, with the exception of swimming. That was the one activity they knew that she enjoyed, thus they made it a point to deny her that pleasure. On those days the Elementals went to the lake, Minh performed make work in the armory.

xxXxxxXxx

Early one evening, Salen arrived at the women's barracks, much to the chagrin of the occupants. Working on the bunk room floor, Minh paused in her scrubbing as a result of the sudden hush. Looking up, she saw Salen smirking at her, a coiled neural whip in hand. With her skin flushed with perspiration and dirty wax staining her coveralls, Minh felt self conscious about her messy appearance. Rather than pause, Salen continued toward Henna's office.

"What did you do?" Fal demanded.

"I did nothing," Minh said as she watched Salen walk away.

"I get whipped, I will kill you," someone hissed from the other side of a bunk at Minh.

"I will die before you are whipped. I promise you that on my honor," the words were not spoken in heat, but with a tiredness that was felt to the bone.

The woman on the other side of the bunk snorted in disbelief.

Another woman had heard the exchange. It was Erin, a bondswoman who had been badly hurt months ago. Bondsmen from a neighboring bunk room had ganged up on her, beating her badly. Minh had been teaching her self defense tactics and Erin had idolized her as a result. Now Erin was disappointed in her heroine. She had been avoiding Minh, but Salen's arrival seemed to have emboldened her. Intent on adding her own commentary, she finally approached the small woman.

Minh was surprised at Erin's deliberate advance. She had come to the realization long before that Erin had been keeping her distance from her. Seeing the woman's unhappiness, she knew what was to come did not bode well.

"You left us. That was very selfish!" Erin accused. "How dare you?"

Standing in clear sight of everyone in the barracks, Minh felt vulnerable. Anyone within earshot could hear what Erin was saying. Minh did not believe that she had hurt the women in any way by her escape, yet she could hear the pain in Erin's charge. Deep down, she felt that Erin's plural 'us' was really meant to be singular. She had been hurt by Minh's betrayal. Erin had believed the two of them to have been good friends, a belief encouraged by the individual martial arts instruction that Minh had given her.

That conception had been understandable. Minh had been fond of Erin. The woman had been a good and kind person, a fact difficult to keep in mind at that emotional moment.

"You act so noble and long suffering!"

Yes, it was very difficult to keep in mind.

Minh noticed Fal watching from among the other women. She had a look of disgust that Minh thought was meant for her. Minh broke eye contact and returned her gaze to Erin. Rather than meet her face, she kept her head level and looked at her knees instead.

"You brought this on yourself," Erin waved at where Minh had worked on the floor. "Who do you think you are kidding?"

_I was not trying to joke_, Minh thought. _I do not think this is funny_.

"You are not fooling anyone here," Erin kept up her tirade despite of Minh's lack of expression. "You never had to work before. Now you think to impress us with diligent effort!"

Minh said nothing. She did not understand half of what Erin was saying. She did not want to make matters worse by saying the wrong thing. She would rather have Erin angry at her than add to her emotional pain.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Erin wanted something. Whatever it was, Minh was supposed to guess.

"I do not want to hurt you."

Erin barely heard Minh's simple statement. Frustrated by her inability to get satisfaction, she balled up her fists and clenched her teeth. Trembling, she resisted the desire to grab the small woman and shake her. The woman was too messy to touch. She knew that if she were to give into her impulse, Minh would most likely take her down.

"Agh!" Erin burst out in frustration, holding her hands out before her as if she wanted to choke someone. "What is the point of talking to you? You don't get it! It would be easier to talk reason to a wall. Walls do not make inane responses!"

After Erin stormed away, Fal followed her out the door of the barracks.

"Keep away! Don't follow me!"

"Yeah? Who are you to make commands, anyway?"

"Back off or I'll-!"

"Minh may have to take that, but I don't!"

Erin paused on the stairs and looked up at Fal as a result of the implied threat. Both women had been given the benefit of individual martial art instruction from Minh. Even though it had been a long time since they had practiced, Erin recognized that she could lose any fight she started with Fal.

"Minh is getting what she deserves."

"How so?"

"She thinks she is so special."

"What way it that? Minh has never used her abilities to lord over us. She could have taken charge of us when she first showed up. No one would have cared to stop her. After all, we are only women. Remember? Those men had beaten you up and their peers did not do anything about it. It was Minh who had saved you. She was the one who carried you to the doctor. She shared her skills us."

Erin was ashamed. Her anger against Minh had made her look ungrateful.

"She beat up Trent," she said. "He had not been a part of it."

"Trent accepted her challenge," Fal countered. "Speaking of which, I thought you were stupid to strike up a friendship with him. I still do, but Minh talked me out of saying anything before."

"Oh, really?" Erin could really be a snot sometimes.

"She said it was none of our business," Fal said. "I suppose if she thought there was a problem, she would have done something about it."

There was a pause, then Fal went on.

"I am not going to be whipped."

"You cannot fight the MechWarrior," Erin snapped.

"I do not have to. I believe in Minh. She is working her fingers to the bone, not out of fear for herself, but for us. I don't know about you, but I would never work that hard, no matter what the threat. She is not being selfish."

"Oh? And I am?" Erin sounded petulant.

Fal did not tell her what she thought, but she remembered how Minh had rallied the women and redirected them from having an uncontrollable riot. She had led them and later fought for them. Minh had promised not to cause them to suffer the neural lash. She knew deep down that Minh would not give her word if she did not mean it.

"I was talking to one of the women in the other barracks. One of the new women from the ship. She told me that a MechWarrior with braided black hair had whipped Minh. I think that is her in there," Fal said. "Having done it before, I believe she means it. Minh knows what that feels like to get beaten. She will not wish us to suffer that."

"She is so noble," Erin said sarcastically.

"Jumping all over her when she is down is not going to help us," Fal pointed out. "What are you trying to do? Do you want her to leave? Do you want to get us into trouble? Are you really that spiteful?"

At the other end of the bunk room, Henna had met Salen at the door when she arrived at the office. Closing the door, they spoke in private.

"Minh has not been a problem. She is a hard worker," Henna testified before Salen could say anything.

"You are not covering for her, quaff?"

"I do not want to see her get into trouble," Henna said honestly. "But she has done nothing that I need to cover up. She has not done wrong, has she?"

Salen silently observed the tech and saw the fear of retribution that the MechWarrior represented. That was to be expected, but there was something else. An honest concern for the bondswoman.

Henna was obviously doing the job assigned to her by Batiste in keeping Minh busy. She could not fault the tech's efforts to follow her orders. The exhausted young woman was a shadow of her former self, lacking the aggressiveness she had exhibited before her escape. In her stained coveralls, she presented a positively wretched appearance. She literally cowered behind her hair, letting it conceal her half-ravaged face. She lacked that warrior heart that Keen had professed to have discovered in her upon his capture of her.

"I am just checking up on her," Salen said, holding the whip in plain view. "I do not want anyone to believe I was making an empty threat when I was here last."

"Everyone here believes you," Henna said earnestly. She did not want to sound defensive, but she did not want to give the MechWarrior reason to carry through with the punishment neither.

When Salen left, she stopped to watch Minh work. The bondswoman had her back to her. Crouched over on her hands and knees, she scrubbed in a furious manner. Exposed by the rolled up sleeves of her jumpsuit, her forearms glistened with sweat. The hard working woman did not seem so soft now in appearance. The forced exercise and reduced rations had caused Minh to lose weight. She had regained her litheness. Her slight frame would never develop the large muscles that exemplified Elementals, but the definition was there. Wolfishly lean, her slimness was being fine tuned into a tool that could be used. Like a steel blade that had been improperly forged, she had lost her temper, but she was being reforged.

She paid no attention to the other women as they fearfully tried to ignore the antagonists. Such people were normally beneath her notice and that was the case here. After several moments, she made her way out of the barracks and down the stairs. Two women made room for her on the stairway, but she did not find them to be remarkable in any way.

xxXxxxXxx

The next day, Salen faced the lanky limbed bondswoman in the practice field.

"You are not trying!" Salen's accusation accurately described Minh's lackluster effort in her hand-to-hand practice. "You are only going through the motions!"

"I am not allowed to try," Minh responded in a dead voice. "You have promised me that other women will suffer if I cause you trouble."

"You have shown a marked lack of reliability," Salen replied. "Perhaps this will instill you with responsibility."

"My responsibility has never been an issue. It is my success that seems to be trouble."

"Right," Salen said dubiously.

"I dropped Keller and I was punished for it," Minh shrugged her shoulders. "You do not want my best effort.

"You are holding the women against me. That has given you unfair advantage. You prevail against me and yet you are still not pleased."

Salen felt the sting of the mildly spoken reproof. Pursing her lips, she resisted the angry urge to respond to the dispirited bondswoman. Speaking the first thoughts that had come to mind would only have made her sound reactionary. Maintaining a respectful attitude, Minh had not looked up as she spoke. The open criticism showed that the small woman still had backbone, despite the efforts to totally subjugate her.

_I must keep control of myself_, Salen thought. It was not just for Minh's benefit. She did not want the other warriors to see a bondswoman prevail against her. It was more than just dignity, it could lead to another Trial of Position.

The Elementals silently observed the exchange between the two women. The practice of psychology was not a warrior's strong suit. Granted, a warrior sought to 'psych out' an opponent, but apart from tactical advantage, that was the extent of their experience. Crushing the spirit of the bondswoman in an attempt to manipulate her growth was beyond their understanding. They were destroying Minh. They could not see how that would improve her. It was only breaking her down.

With her face downcast, Minh did not see the effect of her words on the Elementals.

xxXxxxXxx

"I feel less than a man," Keller admitted to Batiste as he watched the small bondswoman work that afternoon. Minh was out of earshot where she stood on the scaffolding at the armory next door. With brush in hand, she was painting the nooks and crannies that were missed by the spray paint team. "That is not the usual effect one expects from that bondswoman."

Something attracted his attention and he turned from the doorway. Don was studiously absorbed in his own task as he tried to avoid bringing the Elemental's ire on himself. Keller glared at the tech anyway.

"It is your fault for being clumsy and letting Minh take you down," Batiste said.

"I was not clumsy. I was off balance," Keller insisted, turning back to look out. "Minh was in the right place at the right time and she followed her instincts."

"That is inconsequential," Batiste shook his head at the incongruities. "The star colonel does not care about the method. Whether skill or blind luck, he only sees the end result. Minh had defeated a superior appointed over her. He would have taken permanent action against Minh if we had not punished her ourselves."

"It was training," Keller said. "It was not as if she had made an unprovoked attack."

"If you had gotten back up, it would have looked like training," Anton interjected.

"So it is my fault for that too?"

"You underestimated her," Anton said.

"It is interesting to hear you say that," Keller noted. "You do not respect her."

"Respect has very little to do with estimation," Anton explained. "Anyone can be dangerous under the right conditions."

"That was a good strategy she used," Wendal continued. "Kicking compensated for her lack of upper body strength. It also extended her reach beyond her arms. If she gets herself together, she will be a force to be reckoned with." The other Elementals stared at him.

"She was willing to face us. All of us," Keller added. "She was brave."

"She was desperate. Cornered animals are more fierce than normal," Anton dismissed the favorable recognition. "She had no choice, nothing to lose."

Listening to the Elementals, it was obvious to Nagatake that they were not totally united in the way they were dealing with Minh. There was no agreement among them. Admiration for her conduct was mingled with contempt for her as an individual.

Like Don, Nagatake had overheard the conversation. Although he had been told to stay clear of Minh, he felt he had to do something.

xxXxxxXxx

It was unmistakable that Minh had entered into a deep depression. Nagatake had no opportunity to speak to her while she worked under Elemental supervision. Once, Nagatake spoke to her when Batiste was present. She looked to the Elemental for permission to speak. Batiste's glare kept her from responding. She would not even look at Nagatake after that. Batiste gave him a warning look as well. During the rare times the Elementals were absent, she was uncommunicative, refusing to answer Nagatake at all. Don spoke to Nagatake, but he did not initiate conversation with Minh. It was as if he did not wish to cause her additional trouble.

He did not approve of the Elementals' despicable conduct toward the bondswoman. They had created her as a militant. Now they were trying to beat that out of her. That was unusually contrary of the Elementals. It did not make sense. Were they crazy? Did they know what they were doing? Did they even care? Her present treatment was much worse than he had ever faced and he had grown increasingly concerned about her. Having been rebuffed at the armory, he wanted to find a way to break through to her.

This was not the first time he had to do something like this. AeroSpace Pilot Stev Ch'in had previously enlisted him to right a wrong with Minh. That time, Nagatake had wrongfully forced her to take responsibility for his own guilt. Somehow, she had been prevented from destroying herself, but it had been a very near thing as evidenced by the scar on her throat.

He feared for her sanity. He did not know what she would do if she were to lose her sensibilities. Without self control, she could be a danger to anyone, even herself. He had to help her.

At one time she had been his subordinate. Since then she had become more. He genuinely liked her as a person, caring for her. Perhaps it was their common background and the fact that the two of them were radically different to the others in the clan.

Nagatake sought out Katya after supper. She was busy with her duties, but she was able to get free two hours later. When they arrived at the barracks to see Minh, the facility showed signs of undergoing cleaning. The floor was still unfinished. It was a big job for one small woman. Squared section by squared section, it would be done in another week or so.

They found her lying on her back on the top bunk. It was apparent that she had just settled down for the evening. Her hair was still damp from showering. With her hands were cupped over her mouth, she was making shallow breaths, inhaling and exhaling with peculiar rhythm. The sound went unheard more than a few meters away. Nagatake did not know what to make of the strange act, but he was afraid this was a sign that she was developing dementia. He looked at Katya, who looked back at him with an expression of puzzlement that mirrored his own. Had Minh retreated into fantasy?

Looking back at the bondswoman, he was again reminded of the time he saw her lying on a sick bay bunk. This time, she wore a T-shirt that fit her like a dress. Her bare arms and legs were lean, but with a defined muscle tone. He did not share the Elemental's opinion that she had been overweight. She had seemed a bit soft maybe, but not heavy. The physical regimen she was undergoing had since reduced her figure. Lying prone, as opposed to when she was working in her coveralls, Nagatake saw her differently. In her linear position, she appeared to be thin.

"Minh?"

The small woman jumped, her hands flying away from her face at the sound of Nagatake's voice. She was so engrossed in her mental exercise that she had not heard the obligatory 'man in the room' warning call.

Not saying a word, she sat up and faced her visitors. She curled her legs beneath her as she arranged herself. With her hair grown out, it easily shielded half of her face. Nagatake was struck by her self conscious, demure manner.

"You have not been to the infirmary lately. I wanted to check on you," Katya announced, peering at Minh's face searchingly. The small woman's perch on her bunk kept her head out of Katya's reach.

"Lean down here," Katya instructed her.

"I can jump down," Minh offered.

"No, this is fine," Katya said as Minh leaned over. She reached up and gently moved her hair out of the way. The younger woman tried not to flinch under the attention to her eye. "Why did you take off the bandage?" Katya touched near the spot it had been below her temple.

Bereft of friendship among the women in the barracks, Minh was touched by Katya's gentle care and concern. She relaxed under Katya's examination. A sense of peace stole over her. Seeing Nagatake watching her, she felt her face flush with warmth from the shame of having him witness her emotion.

"It had came off in the shower," Minh explained. She touched her lower lip thoughtfully. "Two days ago."

"The abrasion is healing nicely," Katya noted. "Leave it alone and it should not get infected."

"Are you qualified to determine that?" Nagatake asked her as Minh straightened back up.

Katya looked at him in annoyance, then she shrugged. Katya was not a trained physician, after all.

"Does it hurt?" she returned her attention to Minh.

"Itches," Minh had forgotten all about the scrape until Katya brought it to her attention.

"Same thing. It is healing. Let it," Katya said. "How have you been?"

"No worse than any other slave, I imagine," Minh said deprecatingly.

"Why do you say that? You are not a slave," Katya said. Seeing Minh's look of disagreement, she went on. "Your bond to the Wolf Clan does not make you a slave."

"Bonds are shackles," Minh stated, holding her wrist up to display the cord. "I am a prisoner here."

"You are not in prison," Katya said. "That cord is not meant to bind your hands together. It is a symbol of the pledge between you and the clan."

"I made no pledge," Minh said automatically. _Or have I?_ she wondered as she recalled her decision to surrender. Did her desire for the return of the Star League mean that she had made a deal? She had never discussed the subject with anyone. Distracted by her own thoughts, she did not hear what Katya said in reply. A moment later, she regained her senses and saw her visitors looking back at her expectantly.

"I-," she waved her hand distractedly as she looked away. Her confusion was evident, much to the others' dismay.

_It is time Minh discovered the true status of bondsmen and bondswomen_, the med tech decided.

"That bond cord on your wrist means that you are a part of Clan Wolf," Katya explained patiently. "At the same time it sets you apart from the others as a bondswoman, a newcomer who must learn the ways of the clan."

Minh recalled the contempt she had been given by the warriors when she had first been released from solitary confinement months ago. The rest of the people under bond had been neglected as well, left to their own destructive self control. They lived like animals and preyed on each other. After arriving at Strana Mechty, conditions were little better. Procedures for proper supervision were in place, but they were not used very much.

"You are not a slave. No one owns you. Not Keen. Not anyone else. He is actually accountable for you, but that does not imply ownership," Katya continued. Minh looked at the woman skeptically. "Minh, you are also held accountable."

"No kidding," she mumbled, glancing around the barracks. Salen would not let her forget that through her treatment of contempt.

"You have to learn the ways of the clan. You have independence that is normally denied prisoners." The Elementals served as her jailers, which gave lie to Katya's argument.

"I am confined to the barracks."

"No locks prohibit your movement. You remain here on your own recognizance. Only your honor keeps you here."

"There is no honor. I am not allowed to move freely. A warrior has to accompany me when I am out of the barracks. The only thing missing is a leash," After a moment of silence, she held up her wrist and displayed the cord. "Oh, here it is. I was mistaken."

"Not everyone who is captured by the clans become bonded. Many, especially the incorrigible, are detained and eventually left someplace where they cannot cause harm.

"Someone has recognized your skill. You have been given an opportunity for acceptance."

Listening to Katya explain bond status, Nagetake was reminded that he had been considered incorrigible. Minh turned her face away, clearly uninterested in the direction the conversation had taken.

"Being a bondswoman is an honor," Katya declared.

"Vera is a bondswoman," Minh retorted bitterly. "She has no honor."

Katya could think of nothing to say to that. Nagatake cracked an involuntary grin at her inability to deal with Minh's logic.

It was clear Minh still did not get it.

After a long moment, Minh looked back to her friends. Both of them had been under bond like her. Now they were passing her by. Short in stature, it would seem she was short in accomplishment as well.

"You have not seen the best example of bondswomen when you joined us on the ship," Katya went on, trying another tack. "None of us really cared about ourselves. There was a reason we had been taken under bond, but at the time we did not know. It was only after Nagatake had put things right that we became properly motivated."

Under Stev Ch'in's guidance, Nagatake had supervised the women. He remained silent about that. He felt that any comment on his part would undermine Katya's reasoning. Minh appeared to be unconvinced.

"They would not do this if they did not care," Katya said. "Once you were released from a solitary confinement, you ceased to be a prisoner. You had been bestowed with the honor of bond status. You had the freedom you needed, plus you are held accountable when you exceed that freedom," Katya paused and let Minh think about that for a moment. "Everything that happened to you came as a result of your decisions, not because of that cord on your wrist. You have so much promise, yet you act so irresponsibly. You are just like a little kid."

"I did as I thought right," Minh said defensively, smarting from the personal observation.

"You ran away because that was right?" Katya asked.

"I escaped because it was my duty to the Draconis Combine."

"Was your return also in accordance to your duty to the Combine?"

"I did that for the Star League."

_Say what?_ Nagatake did not see that coming. Minh saw his startled look and explained herself.

"General Kerensky was not the renegade he had been painted by the historians in the Draconis Combine."

Katya appeared shaken by the statement, that someone would dare say something like that against a popular ancestral figure of the clans. Nagatake narrowed his eyes in disbelief, a look that Katya noticed.

"The Kerensky bloodline runs in the Wolf Clan," she explained. She was rewarded with a look from him herself.

Returning his attention back to Minh, Nagatake noticed the bondswoman's nod of agreement at the novice med tech's words. He quickly concluded that Minh must have come under a mind altering influence during her absence. That would help to explain her delusional attitude.

"The clans are the descendants of the Star League Army," Minh said. "They have returned to rebuild the Star League."

"The Star League was not the perfect, enlightened government portrayed in history. It was not what you believe it to have been," Nagatake tried to contradict Minh's political position. It would seem he was right to be concerned about her mental stability. After the way the Elementals had been driving her, it was no wonder she resorted to this strange talk. "If the Star League was so beneficial, why did it have an army to enforce it's will?"

"The same question can be asked of the Combine," Minh countered, her voice sounding uncertain in reaction to Nagatake's opposition. She plucked nervously at the hair that concealed that part of her face.

"Is your eye bothering you?" Katya asked, hoping to deflect the disturbing conversation. From the look on Nagatake's face, she was afraid it would become heated.

Minh gave a quick shake of her head. A stray hair aggravated the tender skin around her eye as she concealed that part of her face. She dared not admit that. She did not want anyone to think she was weak. She did not want anyone looking at her eye again.

"Well, leave it alone and let it heal," Katya said. "You will only irritate your eye."

Minh nodded.

"You are doing well. Do not give up now. Be strong!" Nagatake exhorted. Minh keyed on the final word.

"Taking responsibility is a measure of strength," she said tonelessly. "Clan Wolf has no room for weakness."

"Do not let them win!" Nagatake incited, inwardly appalled at the brainwashing she exhibited.

"They have already won. I surrendered to them. This is my punishment. I deserve this," Minh declared.

"You are letting them treat you in a worthless way."

"It is the only way I can convince them of my sincerity," Minh said quietly.

"You have converted to their cause?" Nagatake hissed. It was worse than he had suspected.

"I have discovered-," Minh lost track of her line of thought. She started again. "I saw Go-Four."

Katya looked blank.

"That was my tank," Minh explained to her. "The clan fixed the battle damage. They made it a much better tank than when I was in it. If they can restore a tank, they can restore the Star League."

Nagatake looked at her as if she were crazy. There was a vast difference between a mechanical contrivance and an entire society. Correction: an entire collection of societies. The invading clans were facing several governments.

"It looks as if they are convincing you instead," he observed. Stroking her hair with one work worn hand, Minh had the appearance of a woman fighting to avoid a nervous breakdown, struggling to hold herself together.

Minh felt a sudden stab of doubt at Nagatake's subtle evaluation. She wanted to tell him that it was not the warriors on base that had told her, but a farm tech that was her source. Fearing that he would scoff, she remained silent. She would not allow him the opportunity to criticize her information. It was all she had to cling to. She had nothing else to believe in.

Nagatake saw the change in her eyes, as if shutters had closed off the soul within her. He knew it was pointless to debate the matter further with her. He would only make things worse. Shaking his head, he silently made his way out of the bunk room. Katya lingered, wanting to say something, but she did not know what. With a sad smile, she departed also.

"I do not know if I helped her or not. Now I am confused," Nagatake said to Katya outside of the barracks. Looking at her, he wondered if the two of them were even on the same page. During the conversation, Katya managed to connect with Minh. She seemed to understand what Minh was talking about.

Minh's desire to cooperate with the clan, to become a means to an end, reminded Nagatake that the term for samurai meant "to serve". In a way, it bothered him, as he was reminded that his own service was far from exemplary. Not for the first time, he wondered why she was being trained. What did the Elementals want from her? Whatever they were doing was too elaborate just for the sake of inflicting torture and malice. His concern was for her appropriate use. She had a strength of will, but would that be enough? At one fifth their body mass, she was not an Elemental. It made as much sense as placing a light BattleMech in the vanguard against assault class opponents. The only real cost to the enemy would be in ammunition expenditure and effort. In regard to Minh, would she survive?

Minh lay back down on her bunk and returned to her imaginary harmonica practice. Her concentration had been broken by the visit. Replaying their conversation in her mind, she considered Nagatake's reaction to her conversion. Minh pondered that as she stared at the ceiling. She had disappointed Nagatake. Did that matter to her? Perhaps. Would it affect her determination? She hoped not. She could not please everyone all the time. It seemed that she was displeasing everyone every time she made the smallest decision.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was barely half way through her song when someone clambered up over the end of her bunk and settled down at the foot of her mattress. She was startled and more than a little indignant at the invasion of her personal space. Uncupping her hands from in front of her lips, she propped herself on her elbows and looked at her uninvited visitor.

It was Fal. She sat staring expectantly back at her.

Minh wanted to be left alone. She did not try to conceal her feelings.

"You look really pitiful."

"You should not be here."

"For someone seeking pity, you're acting awfully antisocial."

"It is not safe to associate with me."

"How noble of you," Fal said deliberately. "How fake! That is your problem."

Erin lay on her own bunk nearby. Trying to sleep, she could not help but listen to the exchange. After the way Fal had spoken to her the other day, she was surprised that Fal seemed to have turned against Minh. She rolled away and pulled her pillow over her ear to blot out the noise.

Angry, Minh sat all the way up and the two women stared at each other.

"You do not want any of this!" Minh pulled her hair from over the side of her face. Bold in her fierceness, she did not blink.

"Could you put your hair back? You're a bit hard to look at."

"I am not that hard," Minh said in her own defense as she complied, not smiling. In truth, her eye had been getting better. It was not as puffy as it had been before and the dark bruise was fading. Save for the veil of hair she maintained, she could see out of it. Having nothing more to say, she glared at Fal.

"What were you doing before?" Fal asked, miming Minh's breathing exercises with her hands over her mouth.

"Harmonica," Minh explained.

"What harmonica?" Fal asked, unable see Minh's imaginary musical instrument.

"It was confiscated when I came back," Minh said.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean, you came back? They didn't catch you?"

"I came back of my own will. Of my own free will," Minh corrected herself. "I did not believe that they would shoot me if I gave myself up willingly."

"Why would they shoot you?"

"They had shoot on sight orders for me."

"You knew they had orders to shoot you and you came back anyway?" Fal demanded, incredulous. "You are stupid!"

"Aff," Minh agreed quietly.

"Real stupid!"

"You said that already."

"It deserved to be said again," Fal insisted with a smirk. "Those Elementals are really hard on you. They have a mean spirit."

"They are not being mean. They are doing this to demonstrate that they care." With that declaration, Minh realized that she really wanted to believe it. The undercurrent of confusion she had been feeling seemed to fade as she reacted emotionally to that thought.

"If that is so, then why are you about to cry?"

Minh's lips, half parted, snapped closed as she glared at the other woman again. Fal smirked in response.

"Why are you acting crazy?" she asked, bringing her hands back up to her face and blowing on them.

"I am not crazy," Minh denied. "I am just bored."

"I have a guitar," Fal piped up. As Minh watched, Fal held one hand out to the side and waved the other one in front of her belly. "See? It's an air guitar!"

_I am not amused_, Minh thought in response to Fal's joke. The thought had no sooner appeared in her mind than she began to smile.

"Air harmonica," she snorted.

Inside, she decided that she wanted the companionship that Fal offered, even if they did not get along. The sense of aggravation that she had felt before had faded.

Henna observed the two women talking together. She had been about to send Fal on her way, but changed her mind. Fal was not being malicious and no trouble was being fomented. Sitting in her office, she could hear their conversation.

It was good to hear Minh respond with good humor.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh began to settle down, becoming less expressive when in public view. Concealing her emotions, she was cold and distant. Rather than let the warriors see her misery, her face had become a placid mask. Her level movement when walking was a picture of self control.

Her manner also affected her attitude in the practice field. Her movements were smooth and less haphazard. Seeing the change in the bondswoman, Salen decided to put her to the test. She instructed her to get a knife from Batiste. Minh refused, informing the MechWarrior that she would not handle a blade weapon. Impatient, Salen borrowed the knife herself and returned to the field. When threatened with the knife, Minh managed to disarm Salen. With revulsion on her face, she flung the weapon away without excessive handling on her part. The knife landed in the dirt near Anton's feet.

"Pick it up," Salen commanded.

_Do not let them win!_ Minh remembered Nagatake's words.

"No."

Though spoken without heat, the challenge in Minh's flat voice was unmistakable. There was no aggressive tone, just flat refusal. Salen was angered more by the lack of emotion than the open defiance to her authority. It was time to teach the small bondswoman an additional lesson.

Both women remained motionless as they faced each other. Salen calmed herself, not allowing herself to give in to rage. Minh gave no sign at all. Her eyes, which had so recently showed her emotional distress, revealed nothing. It was as if she were an automaton.

Salen, confident of her self control, attacked. Minh sidestepped the strike, pivoting into the taller woman. With seemingly little effort, Salen found herself lying on her belly with three of her four limbs splayed out. Minh knelt next to her, one knee at rest against her rib cage and the other at her shoulder. Minh held Salen's striking arm up away from her back in a surprisingly loose grip, yet Salen could not free herself.

"Yield."

Minh's voice was still emotionless. Salen sputtered indignantly, then coughed from the airborne dirt she had stirred up. The unusual pin did not require superior strength or size. She conceded the match to Minh.

The bondswoman carefully let the MechWarrior's arm down and rose up, stepping away cautiously. She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Anton, picking up the discarded fighting knife. Expecting him to take issue over her defiant conduct, she was surprised when he turned his back on her and walked away.

Batiste had watched with disapproval. A warrior always took the best advantage in combat. It was wasteful not to go for the quick win. It was a waste of resources. It was a waste of skill. In her gentle handling of Salen, Minh had shown too much mercy. An attitude like that would get a warrior killed.

"Melee?" Anton asked him. Batiste shook his head.

"Let Salen bring her star for a melee if she is so inclined."

Anton was surprised by his fellow Elemental's change in attitude. To be honest, he did not have the heart to punish the woman again. Condemning the woman's successful efforts, it reeked of hypocrisy. It was not the Clan Way, since she was doing what she was supposed to.

"If the star colonel wants to take issue, let him."

Batiste's final words on the subject summed up the feelings of the Elementals. It was in their nature to be merciless, but there was a limit to their bellicosity. He had lost much respect for the star colonel and it showed.

Bemused, Salen wanted another try against Minh's technique again, but she said nothing. She refused to ask Minh to show her what she had done, not wishing to flaunt her ignorance. It was bad enough that the Elementals had been witness to it.

Minh had hoped that the peaceful resolution of the fight would rekindle the friendship between them, but Salen was proving uncooperative. Minh felt that she should have not been surprised at that, but she was anyway.

xxXxxxXxx

Despite her resolution, she was still susceptible to mood swings. Except for Fal and Henna, most of the others were conspicuous in their efforts to avoid contact with her. She ignored the other women, her efforts dovetailing with theirs as she sought not to call undue attention to herself.

Mealtimes in the warrior dining facility were not as trying as they had been before. She did not have to listen to the derogatory comments about unwelcome bondswomen. The warriors said nothing about her at all. Perhaps they chose not to waste their breath adding insult to injury. The Elementals' contemptuous and heavy-handed treatment of Minh had been exceptionally blatant. She never raised her eyes to look at the others, but she seemed to sense their embarrassment.

Such was the situation after her knife match with Salen. She had completed her meal, which had consisted of a piece of roasted bird and a thick gruel-like gravy. She sat staring at her tray, coated as it was with spoon marked residue. She was mentally debating with herself whether to chew the vestige of fat from the stripped bird bone when Batiste put his cup down. He was on the other side of the table from her and her eyes alighted on his drink. He noticed her attention.

"You can have what is left," he said, nudging the partially-filled cup toward her.

Minh started to reach for it, then paused. She was torn between her thirst and the revulsion of drinking from another's cup. Batiste looked impatient, a precursor to changing his mind and rescinding his offer. Without further thought, Minh snatched the cup and quickly downed the remainder of his drink. It would have been folly to reject even the smallest mercy from an Elemental.

xxXxxxXxx

Andre had to find another way to gather information in the Inner Sphere. Despite the treasure trove of information that had been brought back, that was not enough justify further raids. That was part of the criticism against the expedition upon its return. The warriors involved had felt cheated. They had fought for little glory and cared little for the art of espionage. In their eyes the trip had been wasteful with little honor.

He was interested in Minh's journey. He had initially assumed that she had managed to escape the planet. No one had seen her since she had escaped from Salen. Instead, she had managed to evade recapture for months and then return without being detected. He had not even considered looking for Minh on the farms. Given her past aversion to living her life on her family's farm, he was surprised that she would go back to one. It gave him an insight to what she would be willing to do.

He had checked out her story by going to Quiet Springs Farming Trust. Rather than tell them of her capture, he instead acted as a searcher. He stated that he had looked for the bondswoman everywhere else and that he had at last come to the farming area. In this way he was in a position to find any inconsistencies in either their information, or Minh's.

Much of the information corresponded, with some minor differences. That was to be expected when there was differing views. However, he did discover something else.

It was not in what they said, but the underlying feelings in which they expressed themselves. He was sure they knew more about Minh than what told him. He could sense their suspicion of him and concern for the bondswoman. Even though their testimony matched Minh's story, it seemed there were things left unsaid. It reminded him of how Minh spoke. She had been very candid as she tried to take responsibility for her stay with those people. It was very similar to hostage situations, when hostages and captors developed an emotional bond for each other over an extended period of time. That was known as Stockholm syndrome, so named after a bank robbery in Stockholm, Sweden on ancient Terra. When the policed stormed into the bank, some of the hostages tried to protect the robbers. The robbers also reciprocated.

At Quiet Springs, who were the hostages and who were the hostage takers? More importantly, could he turn that information to his advantage?

Upon his return to base, he had gone to Star Colonel Quint DeVega to get her assigned to him, but Keen was to be given one last chance. He was her bondholder after all. She would surely fail that test, after the way his point had been running her into the ground. They obviously did not know what they were doing. He hoped there would be something left when she became Andre's to use.

Andre's relationship with the star colonel could not last indefinitely. Since the trinary had returned, Quint had become sour in regard to intelligence gathering. The incalculable events of the mission had affected the warriors adversely. The information they had collected had been of little tactical value. Worse, Quint looked worse than a fool. He was all but considered ineffective. Andre knew he was losing his former comrade's patronage. Since he was no longer a MechWarrior, he had no official standing among the martial arm of the clan. He could barely be regarded a warrior. As a disabled has-been, Andre needed to make himself indispensable. He needed to demonstrate that his intelligence gathering scheme was worthwhile, not for tactical advantage but for overall strategy. To do that, he needed to recruit as much talent as he could. His acquisition of Minh would help him meet those needs. The immediate problem was to figure out how to get her away from Keen before her usefulness was destroyed.

Keen would certainly not cooperate. It was obvious that he did not like Andre. The former MechWarrior had shown too much interest in his bondswoman. Could that be another manifestation of the Stockholm syndrome?


	11. Chapter 10 Part 1

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Ten Part 1 by D G Palmer

Fort Bivouac

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

20 July 3051

One evening after dinner, Minh was getting ready to clean the old wax from the floor. Before she could change her clothes, another bondswoman walked up to her from Henna's office. She had a message that Minh was to go to the infirmary. This was a problem because she was not allowed to leave the barracks without supervision. Henna, the tech in charge of the women, was still at supper and thus unavailable. Women gathered to push Minh to the door in answer to her protestations.

"We will not be whipped for your disobedience!"

The fearful women did not want her to cause them trouble by being intransigent. It did not occur to them that they could get hurt should she go out without permission.

The only way she could resist them was to fight them. A commotion like that would bring attention to the barracks. Attention that would bring trouble from Salen. A MechWarrior star commander, Salen had promised to neural lash every tenth woman in the barracks. If she got caught going out, the women would suffer. If she resisted these women, the same thing could happen. Either way, she had no choice.

"Go!"

Minh had been pushed out the door. The women then pulled the door shut and held it.

"This is so stupid," Minh murmured to herself. She could go around and reenter the barracks through the interior entrance, but her passage would be noted by the Tech-in-Charge-of-Quarters. They would most certainly report that she was out of the barracks without supervision.

The only safe option she could think of was to stay put on the stair landing. Eventually, the women would get tired and she could regain entry. Of course, there was the possibility that the call to the barracks was legitimate. Star Commander Salen normally escorted Minh from the barracks. Perhaps she was too busy, or most likely, she was too tired to bother with her at the moment.

It could be that Katya had summoned her to the infirmary to check on her eye. The bruising around it had recently faded away.

Caution and curiosity warred within Minh as she considered her best course of action. Facing the door, she pulled on the handle. It budged a few centimeters, then slammed shut.

"Do as you are told! Go!"

Minh opened her mouth to respond, then changed her mind. There was nothing for her to say. Without any more consideration, she went down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, she began to walk when a figure appeared from the shadows next to the building. She stopped and noticed that the figure was behaving in a cautious manner.

It took her a moment to recognize that it was Ellit. He was a bondsman with whom she had previously had trouble with. She tried to step around him, but he moved to block her path. He was not fast enough and she got past him.

He knew what she could do to him if he pressed her. It surprised her that he had the gall to get in her face at all.

"I do not have time for you," she said.

"Make time," he replied, looking pleased by his own retort.

Minh shook her head as she walked away.

"Your friend is in trouble," Ellit said to her back. "Keep going and it will go bad for her."

Minh stopped. She disliked being manipulated. Her summons to the infirmary had not made sense, but now she understood why. It was not just coincidence that Ellit was waiting for her.

Turning around, she walked back to Ellit. He was cautious at her approach and with good reason. Even though he was taller and heavier than she was, he knew her small size was deceptive. He had been on the receiving end of a wrist lock and had also witnessed her ability at hand-to-hand with an armed opponent. An opponent that she had armed herself. A crazy tactic, but arrogant in it's execution.

Minh said nothing. The message to report to the infirmary had been a ploy to get her out of the barracks. It had been timed perfectly for when Henna was taking her supper. The 'friend' that Ellit referred to was obviously Katya, the novice med tech.

_Do not let him see you sweat_, she thought to herself. Let him be nervous. Let him doubt his own ability to control her. Let him be undermined by his own uncertainty.

"Go that way," he pointed in a direction that was nowhere near the infirmary. It was one of the parking areas on the base for vehicles and BattleMechs. Minh took her time responding to his directions, making Ellit more nervous. Even though she walked ahead, she walked in a manner that permitted her to keep an eye on him.

Arriving in the area, Minh found the tall parking bays to be empty. Without any war machines accommodated within them, the likelihood of sentries being around were virtually nonexistent.

Two people stepped out of an open 'Mech bay. Katya was held firmly from behind by Vera, an oppressive opponent from the past. The bully held a knife in the vicinity of Katya's collar bone.

Despite the concern for where Ellit was directing her to go, Minh was still surprised to see Vera. Remembering the deceit Ellit was capable of, she realized that such a partnership was not to be unexpected.

Vera was a bondswoman to the Wolf Clan. At one time, due to her overbearing personality, she was leader over the other bondswomen on the JumpShip Trailblaze. That ended not long after Minh's introduction to their little group. Lately, she had enjoyed seeing the uppity bondswoman Minh get her come uppance in the repressive custody of the Elementals.

Living in another bunk room of the barracks, the stoutly shaped woman had heard about the terms of Minh's rehabilitation, how the other women were being used against her to guarantee good conduct. That had given Vera an idea how she could manipulate Minh for her own scheme.

"Stop right there!" Vera's shouted command in Katya's ear made the captive woman twitch. Vera savagely strengthened her grip.

"Let her go," Minh said quietly in response to the way Vera was mistreating Katya.

"Shut up, you little tramp!" Vera snapped. "I am in charge here!" By taking Katya hostage, she sought to control Minh.

Minh's face whitened at Vera's improper use of the derogatory name against her. The need to strike back was overpowering and she said the first thing that came to mind.

"I am not the one associating with this molester," Minh jerked her head back at Ellit.

"Shut up!" Vera repeated. "It's all your fault, you see. You just had to come back." Vera was trying to justify her action by blaming Minh.

Minh had not seen Vera since they had been on the ship. Indeed, she had managed to forget about this malicious woman. At one time she had hoped to meet up with the woman again. Vera had badly beaten Katya once before and Minh really wanted an opportunity for a confrontation. Katya had helped convince the small bondswoman not to go looking for Vera. With Katya's caring influence and the passage of time, that vengeful desire had long since passed. However, it was clear that the large woman still wanted to take issue against Minh.

Minh could see that Vera was insane. Gripped in madness, Vera had been consumed by her paranoia. Her obsessive behavior and hatred for Minh was unreasonable. The tiny bondswoman was her bane. Minh had left her alone, but Vera was driven by deeply rooted fear. Her ensuing machination had brought them together now.

Vera was haunted by what Minh could possibly do. She was a threat to everything that Vera had managed to build. Her partnership with Ellit was not as successful as she had initially hoped. The man had been unusually cautious, but what little they had built had been profitable. Given her druthers, she would have gotten rid of him but she needed his contacts, many of whom he had kept secret from her. It was as if he knew he would outlive his usefulness to her if he shared his knowledge. Well, once their empire had grown, she would not longer need him and his day would come. It would be too easy to get rid of him. No one would miss him. First, she had to deal with this little troublemaker.

"You must now pay for what you have done."

"Bullies always put the responsibility for their abuse on their victims," Minh said in reply. She had heard of madness, but she had never seen it. This was crazy. Whatever Vera wanted, she could not hope to get away with it.

What Vera wanted a docile dupe. She did not like this. Minh was exhibiting too much self-assurance, very unlike the pitiful creature that had been suppressed by the Elementals. It was the emotionally whipped woman that Vera had planned on manipulating.

"Take her like we planned," Vera ordered Ellit. Minh half turned toward Ellit, ready to resist him and Vera saw that. "Don't try it! I'll hurt your friend unless you do as I say."

Minh was thus coerced into permitting Ellit to hold her in a decidedly odd manner. His left arm was braced around her neck, the hand gripping her right forearm. His right hand cupped her right hand in a controlling grasp. With both of his hands on one arm, her other arm was unencumbered.

She felt revulsion in the close contact. She felt an almost overpowering urge to use her free elbow to jab Ellit in the ribs. Vera had a wild look in her eye and the knife pointed at Katya's neck shook with tension. She could do nothing.

"Now bring her here."

Minh felt sick as she realized what these two had planned to happen. Vera wanted to have Minh stab Katya. Ellit would make her hold the knife, but there was the matter of spilled blood. There was no way they could keep from getting blood on themselves. An unpleasant thought came to mind. She imagined that the two of them would testify that they had tried to wrestle with her, but they had been unable to stop her from killing Katya. That would explain Katya's blood on them. With the both of them speaking against her, their testimony would outnumber hers. She let her feet drag, unwilling to let Ellit force her into this action.

"Come here!" Vera demanded, shaking the knife at Katya's neck. Wide with fear, Katya's eyes were on the sharp blade.

This situation was surreal. Vera could not possibly expect to get away with this. How could she expect anyone to believe that Minh was capable of such a vile act?

"Everyone knows your reputation, you little sneak," Vera commented, as if reading her mind. "You are unreliable, a runaway. No one trusts you. You are vicious and crazy, always looking for a fight."

It did not escape Minh that Vera was imposing some of her own faults on her.

"Insane with jealousy, you attacked us," Vera continued. "With your fallen reputation, no one will doubt our story."

There was one problem with that scenario. The chosen culprit had yet to commit the crime. Additionally, Katya was no longer a bondswoman, thus her word would carry more weight than any lie this disgruntled bondswoman's could make against them. As long as she kept her distance, Vera's sick plan would not work. All Minh had to do was prevent her friend from getting hurt. Minh had to keep Katya alive. No matter what Vera said after this was over, Katya would be able to refute it.

"Do not worry, Katya," Minh assured her while her mind raced. She had to find a way to disarm Vera before Katya got hurt. "This sorry piece of filth cannot hope to get away with this and she knows it."

"I said shut up!" Vera yelled. "I mean it, I'll stick her! Ellit, get her over here now! Hurry up!"

Ellit did not have an easy time moving Minh. Even though he was larger than the small woman, she had the leverage to resist. The punishing exercise regimen the Elementals had forced her to undertake had built up her strength.

"Either way, Katya gets it," Minh observed with resignation.

Not liking the tone she heard in Minh's voice, Vera shook the knife again. Katya did not want to die and succumbed to panic. She struggled to get free.

"Hold still!" Vera yelled, shifting her grip to maintain her hold.

Katya managed to slip loose, but Vera clutched at her with both arms. In doing so, the knife stabbed into Katya's chest at heart level. The woman stiffened with a gasp, then sagged against Vera.

"It's your fault! You made me do it!" Vera screeched in accusation. She dropped Katya, who fell limply at her feet.

As a result of the knife thrust, Vera lost her hold over Minh. Released from that duress, Minh snapped into action. With her free arm, she delivered an elbow jab to Ellit's ribcage punctuated by a sharp cry of grieving rage. Ellit bent forward in pain. Without a pause in her attack, Minh gave a second shout of rage as she delivered a spinning kick. Bent down, Ellit took the strike to his head and did not know what hit him. Minh landed awkwardly as the man sprawled down in a heap.

Vera, surprised by the sudden violence, was not prepared to take advantage of Minh's momentary lack of balance. With her knife in Katya, she was disarmed. She knew she had no edge against Minh. The small bondswoman was a wild woman, uncontrollable now that Katya lay dead. She was much more lethal than Vera had imagined, having dispatched Ellit so quickly. Rather than throw herself at the momentarily vulnerable woman, Vera ran away in panic.

"Katya!" Minh dropped to her knees by Katya, shaking her still body. The woman's head lolled lifelessly. She could not believe this had happened. It should not have happened. Holding Katya close, she rocked herself, screaming in emotional agony.

Katya had been her very first friend in the Wolf Clan. Killing her was the worst thing Vera could have done to Minh. A good and decent person, Katya was now dead. All because of the pettiness of a brutal bully.

Vera heard the small woman's howl of anguish. It sent a shiver of fear down her spine as she ran. She had wanted Minh to suffer, but she had planned it to happen differently. It had not been her intention to run for her life like this. Everything was going wrong.

"She had done nothing to you!" Minh continued to scream into the night. "There was no reason to do this!"

Minh's scream galvanized Vera's fear. Why hadn't she killed Minh and pin it on Katya, instead? No, that would not have worked at all. No one would have believed an unrealistic scenario like that. Katya was so gentle and rule abiding. It was Minh who had the bad reputation. It was Minh who was unpredictable and prone to violence. Vera wished she had come up with a better plan. This plan had seemed so straight forward. What had gone wrong? Kat was not supposed to have put up a fight. Ellit should have been able to keep Minh immobilized. Why couldn't things occur according to plan? Both Vera and Ellit had agreed it would work.

Why hadn't it?

Gradually, Minh came to her senses. She looked to Ellit. He still lay where he fell, unconscious.

"I will get her!" Minh promised Katya's body. "I will kill that sorry vermin with my bare hands!"

Carefully setting the woman's head down, she rose. Katya had deserved better than this. Why had Vera done this? It had been pure malice, that was why.

"You stravag piece of filth!" the epithet sounded strange in her own ears. Before now, it was unthinkable that she would curse. Now she did not think about it. "You fat piece of filth! Come back and face me, you stinking coward!"

All the while the Elementals had been running her into the ground, Minh had been sensitive about her own weight. The use of imprecation showed her frustration and need for revenge.

"I will rip your heart out and shove it down your throat!"

Minh ran in the darkness, the roar of blood in her ears. Vera had run in this direction, but there was no sign of her. She could not have gotten very far in so short a time. She stopped at the battered corner of a storage shed. The individual 'Mech bays provided almost unlimited possibilities for concealment. She looked around, but she could detect no movement in the shadows. Looking at the various tracks in the dirt, she tried to figure out if she could find Vera that way. The twilight gave her little illumination, even if she knew what to look for.

_Where would I hide if I were a worthless pile of sleaze?_ Minh wondered. Perhaps she would go back to the barracks, back to where her friends were. That would be where she felt strongest.

No, if Vera had friends, she would have brought them along with her to back her up. She was too much of a coward not to use them. She had since demonstrated that she preferred to outnumber her victims.

Bullies like that did not have friends. To them, people were either victims or enemies.

Not having a better course of action, Minh turned toward the barracks. She started to throw herself into a run when she heard it.

The sound came from behind her. It was the slap of shoes on ferro-crete reverberating against tall walls. Minh had been about to go in the wrong direction. Without making undue noise, she jogged toward the fading footfalls.

Approaching the bay in question, she peered around the corner through the BattleMech sized doorway. The interior was dark, but the work benches and tool stands provided no cover. At the far end of the open bay was a smaller doorway, man sized. If Vera had been in the bay, that was the only way she could have gone without being seen. Rather than go through the bay, Minh followed the wall outside. She had no idea the direction Vera would follow upon leaving the bay. If the two women did not run into each other when Minh reached the other end of the building, at least Minh would have an idea which way to go.

At the other corner, Minh spied Vera creeping away from her. The very sight of her quarry set her rage to boiling once more.

"You murdering skag!"

Vera fled like a fowl flushed from the underbrush. Minh was surprised by her speed, but that was only momentary. She sprinted in pursuit, confident in her own ability to close the distance.

"Yeah! You better run!" she screeched. "You did wrong!"

Vera reached the far corner of the building and turned there. Minh ran after her, almost heedless of the threat that concealment would serve Vera.

Almost.

She realized that Vera had to know it was pointless to run away. Minh would inevitably catch up to her. Minh was trim and fast. Vera was large and out of shape. If she was smart, she would be waiting around the corner to ambush the pursuing bondswoman. With that thought in mind, Minh veered away from the wall of the building. When she came to the corner, she would have more room to deal with any attack from Vera. If that coward was smart, she would be waiting.

It seemed that Vera was not that smart. She was still running, letting panic be her guide, a tactic that would only delay what she had coming to her. In much better physical shape, Minh began to catch up.

"I will kill you!"

Vera came to a sudden stop. Minh thought it had been in response to her taunts, but she quickly found that she was mistaken.

"Help me! She is crazy!" she turned and pointed at Minh. A man stepped into view, a handgun in hand.

"Stop! Both of you!" the man ordered. Minh stopped running, but in her desire to catch Vera, she continued to walk.

"She killed Katya! Now she means to kill me!" Vera accused.

"You are the one who knifed Katya! You are the one with her blood on you!" Minh countercharged.

"You threw that knife! I got this blood when I tried to stop the bleeding!"

"You liar! I will kill you!"

"You see! She's the killer!"

"Shut up! Both of you!" the man commanded them.

From his stance, it was apparent that he felt that Minh was the greater threat. With that in mind, Minh feared that she had also been declared guilty. Vera could sense that as well. She seemed to gloat with vindication. That she could possibly get away with her crime turned Minh's outrage to desperation. She had come so close to catching Vera, but now this man was interfering with justice. Her mind whirled with an uncontrollable urge to finish what she had started. Feeling the pull of her righteous anger, she began leaning forward.

"Get back!" the man saw Minh's movement and raised his pistol toward her face. He had not noticed that Vera had been sidling closer to him. In a flash, she delivered a sucker punch, then pushed him to the ground.

Minh realized that the balance of power between them would shift once Vera got her hands on the pistol. With a cry of rage, she charged forward. She needed to get to Vera before Vera could get the weapon.

Vera fell onto the man's body and seized the pistol. Twisting on her knees, she lifted the weapon and pointed it at Minh with shaking hands.

_She cannot miss me at this range_, Minh thought.

The pistol jerked in Vera's hands, immediately followed by a gunshot.

Minh did not see the muzzle flash. In the darkness, the flash would have been blinding since Minh was literally looking down the barrel. She stumbled to a halt, expecting to feel the penetrating pain of a bullet. Instead, it was Vera who fell forward, a shocked look on her face.

There were two other men. Previously unseen, they approached from the 'Mech bay on the other side. It had been one of these men that had shot Vera down.

"No!" Minh shrieked. "She is my kill!"

Her yell had overcome her momentary hesitation. She ran forward again, intent on attacking the prone woman's body.

"Stand down!"

There was a second gunshot. The shooter had fired into the air. Minh stopped once more and found herself staring down two handgun barrels. At that moment she realized their true concern. Vera had dropped her ill-gotten weapon. It was that weapon that these men did not want Minh to get her hands on.

She slowly raised her hands. The anger and disappointment that mingled in her mind was evident on her face.

xxXxxxXxx

When he awoke on the ground, Vera and Minh were gone. Minh's med tech friend still lay where she had fallen. It was obvious to him that the other two women had run away and left him to be discovered with the body and take the blame.

Ellit chose to disappear while he had the chance, to make himself scarce. He had not really agreed with Vera's lust for vengeance. He had felt it was better to remain invisible. All that revenge would serve to do was call attention to their little enterprise.

He would go to their hideout. He would be safe there, as long as he watched his own back around Vera. Her plans of ambition had opened his eyes to what was possible. He would continue. Until she knew everything he did, Vera would not dare endanger that arrangement.

With no one around to answer for the woman's death, no one would know what had happened here, much less who had done it. Without looking back, he quickly stole away.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh sat alone in darkness. She had been taken to the detention facility, but this time she was not in the bare barred jail cells. The last time she was here, she had noticed that there had been two doors to the cell room. She had assumed that the second door was a rear exit.

She discovered what was really behind that notional 'rear exit'. There was a smaller room lined with solid metal doors. It was behind one of those doors that she found herself.

Thinking about it now, it did not make sense to have multiple access to a restricted area. Multiple escape routes, she unconsciously corrected herself.

The room in which she was confined was very small. She had been given only a few moments to get a good look at it before the door closed, leaving her in complete darkness. It was a narrow cell with a single canvas bunk along one wall. Against the back corner was a steel necessity.

Creeping on the bunk, she found her way by touch to the other back corner. With her legs curled beneath her, she sat with her back against the smooth painted ferro-crete wall. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could determine the outline of the door. Dim light leaked through the center of the door near the top and at the bottom, as well as around the door. That indicated to Minh that those were two small access doors, perhaps to provide additional ventilation. The dank air of the cell was still, telling the young bondswoman that no other provision for fresh air had been made.

It was so quiet, the silence seemed to weigh heavy upon Minh's head. She was not claustrophobic, but the tight confines of the room was making her uncomfortable. It was much different from the first time she was in solitary confinement. Back then, she had just as little room to move around in, but at least she had a sink to wash herself. In this room, she was deprived of everything but the barest civilities. The purpose of the room was to convey a sense of total control to the captors.

Her mind seemed to run in circles as she thought about her present circumstance. That she was in this black box demonstrated that she was considered extremely dangerous. She had been unjustly accused of the murder of her friend. Vera's final testimony, spat from lying lips, carried more weight than her own innocence.

A long time had passed, but Minh did not know how much, when she heard the outer door clank open. Seconds later, the small partition at head height on the door slid aside, permitting a shaft of light to lance through. The unexpected brightness hurt her eyes.

"You, detainee! Move into the light!"

Minh remained silent, not moving. As she squinted her eyes, she could see the man's face as he peered through the grating that covered the view slit.

"Do you hear me?"

Minh heard him, but she did not care to obey. What more could they do to her?

There was a second voice. She recognized the pleasant rumble of an Elemental. She could not hear what he said, but it sounded like a command.

The door opened, letting in more light. The sudden influx seemed to hit her with almost physical impact. She could not help but turn her head away.

A large form filled the doorway, blocking the glare. Without having to look at him, Minh knew it was Keen. Her eyes not having adjusted to the light, it was difficult for her to face him.

"Did you kill that woman?"

With her heart pounding from the indignity of the question, Minh looked directly at him. It was clear that she had taken insult. Blood rushed from her face as her expression tightened.

"If you have to ask me that, you do not know me," her voice cracked. There was no mistaking the agony in those dark eyes.

"That is not an answer."

"You do not know me! If you knew me, you would not have to ask me that," Minh repeated, her voice sounding firmer.

Minh lowered her face and closed her eyes to get relief from the light. This was the first time she had heard Keen speak since she had returned to the base. She had dreamed of the time when he would bless her with the privilege of a conversation, but not in her worst nightmare had she imagined it would be like this.

She was in trouble, though not of her making, and she knew it. It had been Vera and Ellit who had caused this.

Ellit had locked her up once before in a warehouse. He had been punished for doing that, but obviously he desired to revenge himself upon her. Minh had heard that vengeance was a vicious cycle, but she had not understood what that meant. Not until now.

She could imagine Ellit's testimony. He would probably say that Minh had attacked them. Challenging multiple opponents was well within her capability. Then there was the remark that Vera had made about jealousy. What had she meant by that? Jealous in what way? Minh did not care one whit about Ellit. Katya would not have had anything to do with him in any case. She was much too good for him. The incongruity bothered her.

A glimmer of understanding came, just as the cell door enclosed her in darkness once more. Her friendship with Katya would be her motive. It was well known that she did not like Ellit. It would be believed that she had attacked Katya to spite Ellit. Spiteful people would do something like that. The others would believe that Minh was capable of conduct like that. She felt sick that such a thing would be believable.

Looking back on her own irrational behavior, she knew it would only serve to help convict her. In a rage, she had attacked a group of MechWarriors during their fitness training. She had even attacked Keen in front of witnesses. Then there was her suicide attempt. Would that event never go away? She wished she could forget that had ever happened.

Alone in darkness, she was tortured by her thoughts. As she reflected on her past, the other women in her barracks suddenly came to mind. Certainly they would not have to pay for this travesty of injustice. Surely not! Salen would not whip them. Minh was afraid her hope was in vain. Despair dragged her pessimistic attitude down farther. Devoid of distraction, she could not help but fret over all of the things that were out of her control.

Hours later, she was startled by the sound of the door rattling. A rectangular opening appeared at the bottom of the door. Hinged up, the little door was fastened in place. A food tray was slid in along the floor. The little door remained open, providing light. Minh looked at the tray dispassionately, noting that it contained part of a torn loaf of bread and a brimming cup of water.

Having no appetite, she remained seated in her corner.

About an hour later, the door opened again. With the light that had previously been admitted by the food slot, the additional light was not as discomforting. Once more, it was Keen. He looked down at the untouched tray on the floor, then turned his attention to the bondswoman. He noticed that she had not moved since his first visit. The jailer was a different man from the one who had locked her in the evening before.

"You are free to leave," Keen informed her.

"I will need authorization. She is here for murder, after all," the jailer objected.

"There was no murder."

His remark broke through Minh's diffidence.

At first, she thought he had made an insensitive remark. Her friend was dead. Her death could be called nothing but murder.

On the heels of that thought came hope, something that she had not considered. Katya was alive? Seeing the comprehension come into her eyes, Keen explained himself to her.

"As your bondholder, I took it upon myself to investigate your alleged criminal activity. After leaving you last night, I went to examine the body. Instead, I found out that the body still lived, that she had been taken to the infirmary. I waited with her until she awakened this morning."

"She is alive!" Minh burst out in amazement. She tried to get up, falling forward onto her hands on the bunk. The jailer took an involuntary step back in surprise. Her legs were numb and unresponsive and she had to handle them over the side of the bunk. She pounded on them with her fists to get the blood flowing through them. Her nerves tingled with muscle pain as the feeling returned.

"I want to see her," Minh pushed herself upright onto stiff legs. Keen gave the jailer a look, causing the smaller man to give way. Taking that as permission to leave, Minh stepped past the men and led the way out of the detention facility. Two men were in the outer office. Seeing that an Elemental and the jailer were following her, they did not attempt to stop her.

Once outside of the building, Minh stumbled into a run. Keen jogged behind her. She ignored the stares of those they passed. By the time they reached the infirmary, she had hardly gotten her wind up.

Minh had to follow Keen through the infirmary to find Katya. She had to walk fast to keep up with his purposeful strides. Arriving at the room, Keen stopped just inside the door. Minh stepped around him, then stopped.

Katya had been resting with her eyes closed when she heard the rapid footsteps. She looked up and saw Minh standing in front of the Elemental Keen. As the young woman stared at her, her face flushed and her chest began to heave with emotion.

"Minh?" Katya winced as she sat up in the bed.

"I thought you were dead!" Minh cried out. It sounded like an accusation. Speechless, Katya watched as Minh's body shivered. It was not in anger nor fear, but in suppressed grief. Then she suddenly threw herself at Katya, much like a small child. With her face buried in Katya's blanket-covered lap, she wept with a high pitched keening.

This was the one true friend Minh had made since her capture by the clan. The one friend who had never judged her, the one who cared for her as a person. She had not died. She was alive.

Katya gave comforted, rubbing the smaller woman's spine. Minh continued to cry in relief. The stress of her ordeal having gotten to her, she had finally broken down. Katya saw the emotional release as a good sign. She had always felt that the bondswoman had been repressing her feelings.

Keen could not conceal his dismay over Minh's display. Seeing his discomfiture, Katya realized that he wanted to be the one to comfort Minh, but perhaps did not know how. Try as she might, she could not imagine an invulnerable Elemental such as this man giving emotional aid and comfort. She thought that, as a result of his lethal training, he would have been deprived of that experience. It made her feel sorry for him.

She had met the Elemental earlier that morning. She recalled the moment, when she had awakened. Her mind was numb with fuzz and disconnected from reality as she lay staring at the ceiling. She barely registered where she was at, much less how she came to be there. When the Elemental leaned over her, it was several moments before she could comprehend what she was seeing.

She had little previous contact with Elementals. All she had ever seen of them was their dominating arrogance, but Keen's patient questioning came as a surprise. She would have expected an energetic interrogation from such a powerful man. His questions, although probing, gave her the impression that he knew nothing at all. Why was she in the BattleMech assembly area after working hours? How had she become stabbed? Could anyone verify her story? He had asked about the stabbing incident. He had seemed pleased by her testimony, but he did not tell her why.

Minh began to calm down, becoming quieter. After a short while, she raised her head and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. That simple act made her appear to be a child. Lowering her arm, she revealed a complexion flushed with red discoloration.

"I thought you were dead," Minh repeated.

"I only pretended to die," Katya explained. "I was afraid that Vera would stab me again. I must have gone into shock or something, because I fainted and I do not remember anything after that. I do not know how I kept from bleeding to death."

"The knife had not been twisted in the wound, so it acted as a seal and that is why you did not bleed to death," Keen interjected.

Katya looked ill at his comment. There was an awkward moment, then Minh spoke.

"I am sorry."

"Why?" Katya asked, reaching forward and taking one of Minh's hands into her own.

"I did not kill Vera," Minh replied. "I should have been the one to make her pay. Someone else killed her."

"No, please do not say such a thing," Katya said kindly. She had not known that Vera was dead until Minh told her. "I was never my wish to see Vera dead."

"She wanted you dead."

"That does not matter. You are a much better person than that," Katya explained. She looked closely at Minh as the mottled blotches faded from her face. The little bondswoman was pale and shaky. "You do not look well. Are you all right?"

"I have not slept," Minh answered. "I was in jail." As if to punctuate her response, her stomach made a noise.

"Apparently, you have not been fed, neither."

"They gave me breakfast, but I was not hungry. They believed I had killed you."

"You should get something to eat," Katya suggested. Minh was about to reply when she suddenly stood up and rounded upon Keen. With fists clenched, she looked ready for a fight.

"You did not tell me Katya was alive last night!" she accused him.

Katya was surprised by Minh's precipitant action. She was much too small to incite the fury of an Elemental. She was further amazed when she saw the Elemental take the effort to placate her.

"When I first visited you, I had not known your friend was still alive," he responded. He did not mention that he had already explained that to her.

_She must have still been in shock_, he thought. He paused to ensure her comprehension, then continued.

"You declined to declare your innocence. I had to seek independent testimony. When I did find out your friend was still alive, I still did not know who had attacked her. I had to wait for her to awaken this morning so I could clear your name.

"I really wanted to believe you were innocent, but you would not give me a chance."

Minh relaxed her stance. She lowered her head and pursed her lips in thought. Then she took a deep breath and looked up.

"You are correct. I should have told you, but I did not think you would believe me," she said. "Since I returned, no one would listen to me. I was not even allowed to speak. Salen even doubts my honor."

"I have never known you to utter a lie," Keen declared.

Things were happening too quickly for Katya to follow, but she was coming to understand that Minh had been accused of attacking her. The thought that anyone could believe that of her small companion appalled her. Now she could understand why Keen was so interested in what she had to say about the attack.

"What will happen to Ellit?" she asked.

"He should be stood against a wall and shot," Minh declared. She looked up at Keen. "I want to be the one to shoot him."

Keen looked down at her without speaking, his expression blank.

"Minh, no," Katya said firmly with genuine concern. "This must stop. He did not hurt me. You made sure of that."

There was a flash of defiance in Minh's dark eyes. It was several moments before the glint faded and she nodded in acquiescence.

"You are correct," Minh said, unmindful that she had just repeated herself. "The vicious cycle must stop."

_Vicious cycle?_ Katya observed the bondswoman wonderingly.

Katya heard Minh's stomach growl again. The small woman looked uncomfortable as Katya stared at her.

"Go eat," she said.

"Go get something to eat before you report to the armory," Keen emphasized.

Self-conscious from the attention, Minh did not dare to look up at him. A pale rose color appeared on her cheeks. That little sign of embarrassment gave her a healthy look. She nodded as she realized she was being dismissed. She looked searchingly at Katya.

"I will look in on you later," she promised, her fingertips lightly touching Katya's blanket. She left without another word.

"Keen? You are Keen, quaff?"

"Aff," the Elemental paused.

"Please, if you would," she said carefully. "I would beg a favor."

Keen said nothing. His expression betrayed no thoughts at all. It took an effort for Katya to continue, in spite of the lack of encouragement.

"Minh is not as smart as many people think. I know it sounds mean to say that, but that is not my intention. I am genuinely fond of that girl," Katya declared. She waited for Keen to respond, then ventured further. "She can be foolish, but she is a clever girl. Too clever for her own good, I think. Someone should look after her."

Having seen his concern for Minh, Katya felt that Keen was the person to watch over her. There was more to his attention than a bondholder would usually show. Minh's anger at Keen revealed that she had feelings for him in return. That was why Katya had risked addressing him about the bondswoman.

"She will not learn if I protect her from her own actions," Keen said in obvious refusal.

Katya was surprised by his negative response. She wished to discuss the subject further, but did not want to risk angering the large warrior. She wished she knew this man better so she would have a better chance of convincing him.

"Minh will be Minh."

He uttered the comment as if that explained everything. With that, Keen was departed the room. Katya did not know whether to pity Keen for his emotional inexperience or to pity Minh for being lost in an affectionless wasteland.

Minh arrived as the dining facility was closing, but that did not concern her. She had not intended to enter through the front door. Going around the building, she went into the kitchen access. She saw that the cooks were getting ready to prepare the midday meal. Grigsby, the chief cook, greeted her with a warm smile.

"I wondered about you," he said. "We missed seeing you for breakfast."

"I am running late today," Minh said. "I am famished."

"You look really faded. Have a seat and we will set you up," Grigsby promised.

"When are you going to bring Katya by again?" another cook asked. The last time Minh had eaten in the kitchen, she had brought her friend. Katya had proven popular with them. As demonstrated by the polite inquiry, the men were apparently uninformed of the events of the previous night.

Seating herself at a counter in back, she related Katya's situation in general terms. All she told them was that she had been hurt and was a patient in the infirmary. For some reason, she felt responsible and did not wish to go into too many details.

"I am sure she would appreciate a kind visit," Minh encouraged them.

The warrior dining facility did not normally provide meals for the infirmary unless the patients were warriors. Listening to them talk, it seemed the cooks could take discretionary action, especially if they favored the patient. In this case, the patient could expect a generous amount of favor. As the men proceeded with their routine, they jockeyed among themselves for the prerogative of taking lunch to Katya.

"Now you've done it," Grigsby said gruffly as he served Minh where she sat. "These guys will be next to worthless while they compete with each other." Minh was preparing to apologize when she saw him wink at her.

After a leisurely breakfast, at least leisurely for her, Minh walked to the armory. With a full stomach, the events of the previous night began to catch up with her. She felt light-headed with fatigue. Knowing she had a full day of work ahead of her, she hoped she could stay awake. Her Elemental point had a peculiar sense of humor when it came to waking her up. She remembered falling asleep while shining boots. Batiste had dumped cold water over her and then dropped the bucket on the deck next to her head.

Arriving at the armory, she was about to knock on the door by kicking it when it opened. She stepped aside as Anton carried out a pair of assault rifles. Wendal followed him, ammunition boxes in hand. Keller brought up the rear. Minh tried to be oblivious to their curious stares.

"Minh!" Batiste summoned her into the armory.

Inside the building, Don and Nagatake were occupied at the work bench. Minh walked past them. What was Batiste going to assign her to do now?

"Go lay down," Batiste pointed at a cot that had been set up against one wall. Minh stared at it, barely able to comprehend what she had been told.

_This has to be a trick_, Minh thought. _I must have heard him wrong. This is too good to be true._

She looked up at Batiste, a befuddled expression on her face.

"The lights are on, but no one is home."

Batiste placed a large hand on her shoulder and guided her to the cot. Minh felt like a marionette as she lay down. Curling up on her side, she realized that if she had wished to rise up, she lacked the will to do so.

Sleep came so quickly that she did not remember any thoughts after lying down.

It had been very quiet in the armory until the Elementals returned to clean their weapons a few hours later. Still in the realm of sleep, Minh was aware of the rumble of their voices, but she could not follow their conversation.

She was not aware when the speaking stopped. Oddly enough, it was the silence that penetrated her rest.

Opening her eyes, Minh saw that Don and Nagatake were gone from the cluttered work bench. Save for Batiste, the Elementals were out of the armory again. She realized that it was lunch time. Without moving, Minh observed Batiste as he sat nearby on a lock box. Having the large man nearby gave her a sense of safety. It had been a long time since she had felt that way.

As if he could feel the weight of her stare, Batiste turned his head and silently regarded her. There was no hostility, no menace. His attention was almost clinical, similar to the manner a doctor or sentry would display.

Feeling no need to get up, Minh closed her eyes and allowed slumber to steal over her once more.

xxXxxxXxx

"Minh, wake up."

Minh blinked her eyes, trying to reconcile her mind to what see was seeing. During her sleep, she had turned over and she now faced the wall.

"It is time to eat," Batiste continued.

"Lunch is over," Minh mumbled as she rolled away from the wall and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"I should hope so," Keller chuckled. "Supper just started."

Removing her hands from her face, she looked around and found that she was the center of their attention. Don and Nagatake stood next to the work bench, all signs of their work having been cleaned up. The Elementals were arrayed by her cot. All of them were watching her. Shyly, she tugged her hair over one side of her face. Although the eye had since lost the swelling and discoloration, she still tried to conceal it out of force of habit.

Cautious, she lowered her eyes and picked herself up.

Outside of the armory, the techs went their separate way. With Elementals all around her, Minh accompanied them to the dining facility.

In the serving line, she took her tray and set it on the counter. It was self serve. As she had been trained, she ladled modest portions onto her tray. She helped herself to a sticky bun before sliding the tray to the end of the counter. As she waited for the Elementals to serve themselves, she glanced down at her tray. Her heart almost stopped as she realized that she had somehow taken two sticky buns.

The Elementals had been very critical of her eating habits. Having been accused of overeating, they ensured that she did not eat more than her share of food. In panic, she snatched up one of the buns and quickly stuffed it into her mouth in an attempt to hide it.

Keller looked down at her. Minh dared not look back. She hoped he could not tell she had her mouth full, yet wondered how he could not know. She waited for him to react. After several moments, Keller looked away, then glanced back at her. Minh tried to assume a visage of nonchalant indifference. When the Elemental returned to dishing out portions onto his tray, Minh quickly chewed the bun and swallowed.

Faint with nervousness, Minh wondered how she had taken two buns. _I must still be sleepy,_ she reasoned.

Sitting down with the Elementals at a table, Minh had started her meal when Batiste placed a cup by her tray.

It had been a long time since she had been permitted her own cup to drink from. Only in recent days had she been allowed to drink the dregs from his cup. She looked at the others, believing that it had been a mistake and that she had been given someone else's mug. The warriors around her already had theirs.

_I must be dreaming_, she thought, but that did not make sense. In her dreams, food did not have any taste at all. That first bun had been delicious.

She was acutely aware of the attention she was receiving from the surrounding warriors in the facility. She could sense the curiosity as well as disbelief. Nearly an entire day had passed since Katya's attempted murder. That was time enough for word to spread among the close knit community. She could hear snatches of conversation, clueing her to the range of inaccuracies regarding her activity the night before. Somehow, someone got the idea that Katya's attack had been self defense on Minh's part. Someone else had the idea that Vera had been knifed and Katya had been shot, both at the hands of Minh. Another thought was that it had been a failed attempt by Minh to escape the base again.

"Nothing could have stopped her if she really wanted to leave," Keller said, as if to himself. "She would have been long gone." His support gave her a thought.

_Does not my presence here prove my innocence? The tolerance demonstrated by the Elementals by their lack of animosity should be apparent to the other diners._

Once she had finished eating, she risked taking a sip from the cup by her tray. No one admonished her for drinking from it. It had not been placed there by mistake. It really was her cup. It was such a little thing, but having it with her meal after so long without was like an improved change in status.

"When you are finished, you may go back to the barracks," Batiste said.

In the middle of a swig, Minh could only nod. Batiste had said that she 'may go back', not that she 'will go back'. Yes, the Elementals had changed from the dictatorial way they dealt with her.

"Have another of these," Keller tossed a sticky bun onto her tray. "See if you can eat it slower this time."

Minh stared at it, comprehending at last what had happened at the serving line. Keller had given her that bun, the one that she had choked down. She nodded again, unwilling to speak as she set her cup down. Moisture pricked at her eyes.

_I will not cry_, she thought as she steeled herself. Picking up the bun with both hands, she concentrated on eating it. She chewed carefully, in a delicate manner, not looking up from her tray. When she finished, she stood up and gathered her tray and cup.

"We are swimming tomorrow morning, so be ready for that," Batiste instructed her.

"Aff, Batiste," Minh nodded once more and departed from the table. Once she was gone, Batiste turned his attention to Keller.

"You idiot!" he growled.

"What did I do?"

"Were you trying to make her cry?"

Keller was about to make a retort when he was interrupted by Keen's arrival.

"Where is Minh?" he asked.

"I sent her to her barracks," Batiste answered. "You did tell us to let up on her, quaff?"

"I did," Keen affirmed. "I wanted to speak with her about tomorrow."

"Something is happening?"

"Minh is to be tested."

"What kind of test?"

"The star colonel wants proof that Minh's rehabilitation is worth the time and effort we have spent on her, especially after last night."

"What kind of proof?"

"The warrior character evaluation."

"She is not ready for that! The star colonel must really want her to fail," Batiste burst out.

"No kidding," Keller agreed, no humor in his tone.

"Nothing new," Wendal commented.

"The star colonel's buddy, Andre, has been skulking around here spying on Minh," Anton said distastefully. "This has to be his idea."

"You think?" Keller asked.

"He has made no secret of his interest in her," Anton explained. "The evaluation is just a plot to get her away from us."

Batiste raised his eyebrows at Anton's proprietary comment.

"The purpose of the evaluation is to measure the motivation of a warrior, not to pass or fail a warrior," Wendal piped up.

"Exactly!" Anton stated. "Minh is not a warrior. She is only a bondswoman. The evaluation is a training tool, to test how well we react under pressure. Minh is not ready for that. She has not had enough training."

"Except for hand-to-hand and the firing range, she has not been trained at all," Batiste continued. "She has not fired a weapon in months. We have never even taken her out into the field. She does not know what to do out there."

"This is not good," Keller agreed.

xxXxxxXxx

On her way from the dining facility, Minh stopped by the infirmary to see Katya. The recuperating med tech was asleep. The med tech on watch stated that cooks had been popping in all day, sounding bemused at Katya's popularity. Minh remained at Katya's bedside for a few minutes, long enough to satisfy herself that her friend was doing well.

When Minh arrived at the barracks, she found the women busy working on scrubbing the old wax from the floor. That was a surprise to her, since that task had been her sole responsibility. Upon seeing her, Henna explained that she had been instructed to relieve Minh of that duty. Wanting to get the job done, she put all of the bondswomen to work. With so many women, what old wax was left would be removed that evening.

Like the warriors at dinner, the women watched Minh. They were wary and, knowing what she could do, were a bit timid also. They had picked up on the rumors that had been circulating among the warriors.

Minh found herself unable to let the other women finish her job. Instead of undressing for bed, she pulled on her floor cleaning coveralls and joined them.

"What are you doing? You should get some rest," Henna said.

"I have slept all day," Minh admitted. "I have a lot of energy I need to use up."

"The Elemental said that you are not supposed to be doing this anymore."

"I want to do this. I started this and I would like to finish what I started."

"Here, you can have my scrubbing pad," Fal offered hers. Minh took it.

"Here, mine is too big," another woman tore hers through the middle. "You can take half of it." Fal accepted it resignedly as someone snickered.

Minh knelt down and scrubbed. She became aware of someone looking at her. It was Erin, who had crouched next to her. Minh had returned to her task when she heard Erin speak her name. She stopped again.

"I was hard on you before," Erin said in an apologetic manner.

"It is okay," Minh shook her head. "I understand why you were upset. I had caused you trouble."

"No, it was not the trouble. That was not why I did that," Erin said candidly. "I was not afraid of being beaten. Not really. I was upset because I was disappointed. I look up to you."

'I look up to you.' Minh noticed that it had been spoken as present tense.

"I am no one special. I am only a normal person," Minh told her deprecatingly. "Do not elevate me in your eyes. I am nobody."

"You are more than that," Erin said.

"I am just your friend."

"This is really hard," Fal hinted, breaking into their conversation with her complaint.

"It is all technique," Minh assured her, then gave Erin a hesitant smile before turning her attention to her other friend.

"For someone with no muscles, you make this look easy," Fal commented. Minh remembered that Fal had made a similar remark before.

"I want to apologize to everyone," Minh said to the gathering at large. "By running away, I put all of you at risk. I did not mean for you to come to harm."

The other women looked uncomfortable.

"I guess you had to do what you had to do," someone spoke up after a moment of silence.

"Don't let it happen again," someone else piped up in a joking voice. There was some laughter at that.

"You have my word," Minh promised in earnest.

Henna watched Minh work with the bondswomen. When Minh had first joined them, she had been aloof. That had earned her little in the way of friendship. Now, as she showed her willingness to work with them when she did not have to, the other women accepted her.

xxXxxxXxx

The next morning, Minh was still keyed up. She was awake when the bunk room sentry came by to rouse her at the appointed time. She was putting her swimsuit on when Salen arrived at the barracks.

"Change in plans," she announced. "You will not be swimming today."

As she peeled her suit off, Minh was aware that Salen was scrutinizing her figure. In spite of the modest opinion she had of herself, she felt she was in the most physically fit shape that she had ever been. She was lean and healthy. Ignoring the MechWarrior, she pulled on her jumpsuit, then sat on the floor to pull on her socks and shoes. When she was done, she stood up and awaited orders. Keeping her distance, she did not look at Salen. It made her seem much more formal than when she had been with the bondswomen the previous evening.

"Go."

Minh obeyed the order, not knowing where they were going. She assumed that she would find out once they were outside of the barracks. She led the way out of the bunk room.

Still early in the morning, the sky was dark. Reaching the bottom of the stairs outside, she found the Elementals waiting for her in a truck.

"Get in back," Salen indicated the flat bed of the truck where the men sat. Keller gave her a hand up, then Batiste pointed to a lock box that had been positioned against the truck cab. Obediently, Minh sat there. Salen got behind the steering wheel in the cab.

As the truck pulled away from the barracks, Minh had the distinct impression that the Elementals were not happy. The animosity that had until recently been directed at her was no longer present. No, their disaffection was not against her at all. If they were displeased with her, she was sure she would have had to clamber up onto the truck unassisted.

Something was going on. She did not see Keen. That in itself was not unusual. Since he began training for his bloodname competition, he had little time to spend with his point. In his stead, he had delegated Batiste to be his proxy when it came to supervising Minh. Batiste took to that duty very zealously.

Sending a vehicle to pick her up at her barracks was unusual. Looking around the truck, she observed that Anton had an ammunition box next to him. It was clearly marked with the designation '15mm', which was a heavy duty small arms cartridge. Very heavy duty. There was also a canvas rucksack by Wendal. There did not seem to be enough gear to supply all of the Elementals.

The last time the point had used a truck, it had been used to transport Keen's powered armor. Minh presumed that since Keen was not present, perhaps the team was en route to him. Would she see him in his suit of battle armor again?

That did not explain the ammunition box. As she puzzled over that, she remembered that Elemental powered armor had an anti-personnel machinegun built into the claw arm. The caliber of the ammunition in the box was much too large for that weapon. She also recalled that powered suits could change out their primary arm weapon. That other arm could mount a flamer, a laser, or a machinegun of heavier caliber. Those weapons were designed for use against vehicles and BattleMechs. The main arm machinegun was capable of shredding armor and destroying the components protected within. One ammo box could not hold all of the ammunition that a suit could carry. Unless the ammunition supply was to be topped off, there was no reason for the box.

At least none that Minh could think of.

The truck traveled out of the base and moved along a paved road. From previous research, when she had planned her escape, Minh knew that they were headed away from the space port. The port predominately operated DropShip traffic. That fact brought something else to mind. Searching her memory, she remembered that there were two airfields at the other end of the road. A few kilometers from the lake was the VSTOL field that operated Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing aircraft. On the other side of a mountainous ridge was the AeroSpace fighter base.

Thinking of the fighter base, Minh wondered about AeroSpace Pilot Stev Ch'in. He was the only pilot she had ever met and it had been a long while since she had seen him. Of all the warriors she knew, he was the only one who had never looked down upon her. For that reason, he held a special place in her good will.

She felt guilty thinking that way. Keen had treated her well, only taking issue with her when she had acted inappropriately. He cared about her, as he had recently demonstrated when she had been falsely accused of murder.

What marred her thoughts for the Elemental was Salen's testimony of his continuing physical relationship with Suni. Even while Minh had had been absent from his presence, she had remained true to him. Admittedly, chasteness remained the core of her being, so any illicit physical relationship on her part would have been unthinkable anyway.

The truck arrived at the VSTOL base and wheeled up to the control building. As the Elementals piled off of the truck, three men and a woman left the building and approached them.

"How did you get picked for this test?" Anton called down to one of them.

"Clean living," the warrior responded ironically. The Elementals chuckled at what was obviously an inside joke. "I will be the briefing officer for this exercise. Is that the examinee?" The briefing officer had turned his attention to Minh seated on the lock box. Before anyone could reply, she stood up swiftly with her arms straight down her sides.

"Bondswoman Minh, reporting as ordered, Sir!" she barked out in a clear voice as she stared straight ahead. Standing on the truck bed, she found herself looking over the heads of those on the ground.

"At your ease," the briefing officer chuckled. "Get your weapon. We will be starting shortly."

Batiste gestured for the bondswoman to jump down to the ground. Then Keller clambered back up onto the truck and handed the lock box down to Wendal. Wendal removed a rifle case from it. Opening the case, he proceeded to lecture Minh as he described the weapon that lay within. It was a rifle chambered for fifteen millimeter ammunition. Minh had never fired it before, but she was assured it was very similar to the other rifles that she had used.

This rifle was a heavy, robust weapon. It was designed in bullpup configuration, with the box magazine and bolt action mechanism located behind the trigger assembly, making it a relatively compact firearm compared to others in it's class. Because it was not semiautomatically operated, there was no mechanism to absorb the recoil of firing. Instead, there was a massive muzzle brake. With the brake causing an obstruction for aiming, there were no open sights on the weapon. The telescope that was mounted on the receiver aimed over the brake. The box magazine would hold five rounds of ammunition. A folding bipod was permanently attached to the fore stock.

It was ideally suited to stand up under the sturdy hands of Elementals. In Minh's arms it was just a heavy weapon. At eleven kilograms, it was almost four times heavier than a conventional assault rifle weighing three kilos. With a length of one-hundred fifteen centimeters, it was comparable in size.

"That is an anti-material rifle, not an antipersonnel weapon," Salen noted. She had been listening to Wendal instruct the bondswoman.

The briefing officer, who had also been listening, looked exasperated at the interruption. He was waiting for his turn to brief the bondswoman. Minh regarded Salen with tolerance. Seeing her expression, the Elementals smiled with amusement.

The briefing officer asked Minh if she had fired the weapon before. Minh had not and told him so. The warrior did not seem disturbed by that admission. Rather, it appeared that he had expected it.

_What exactly is going on here?_ Minh wondered, feeling unusually sensitive in regard to the actions of the others. She kept her wits about her, observing everything that was happening around her.

"I need to zero the weapon," Minh announced during a pause. The procedure involved adjusting the sights to allow for accurate firing. Seeing Wendal give a subtle nod of respect, she knew it was something that had not been accomplished.

"Very well. You will not be allowed any more ammunition than the five rounds you will be issued with one magazine," another warrior declared. Not knowing his name, Minh labeled him 'judge'. She started to smell something strange about the heavy-handed way the test was being administered.

The Elementals could see that Minh suspected something was up. They had said nothing at all about what was going on, yet she seemed to have picked up on it. When she declared that she would zero her weapon, the men admired her professionalism. There was no doubt that the test administrators believed that Minh would use up all five rounds. That would cause her to fail the test before it began.

"Spot for me?" Minh faced Wendal. He had served as her shooting coach before and she trusted him. The Elemental nodded his assent.

"First, you will eat," he said. "Without energy, you will get the shakes."

He went to the lock box and lifted out a ruck sack.

"Put these in your pockets," he instructed her, handing her several foil wrapped field ration bars. "You might get hungry later."

Later? Minh was hungry now. Once she had finished stuffing her pockets, Wendal handed her another one to eat. Gratefully tearing into the wrapper, she noticed that he took two of the bars for himself.

He must have missed breakfast as well, she realized. The ration bar was dry, almost crumbly with a stale taste. They shared a canteen of cool water to wash their meal down.

"We will need a target," Wendal announced as he went into the airfield control building. He was not inside very long.

"Remind me when we are through that they want this back," he said when he returned with a clipboard with a white sheet of paper attached to it. In the center of the paper was a small circle drawn in ink and colored in solid. He sounded amused. "Get your weapon."

The judge stood over them as Minh did as she was told. It did not escape her notice that he was watching Wendal carefully as he counted out five cartridges from the ammunition box. He picked up a spotting scope from the lock box, then he led her away.

As they walked, Wendal went back over the technical specifications of her weapon. Minh understood why he was repeating the information. It was not that he considered her incapable of retaining knowledge. It was the professionalism of a warrior leaving nothing to chance. She echoed everything to show that she understood what he was telling her. The effective and maximum range. The fact that she would be using ball type ammunition, not armor piercing. The estimated drop in elevation when fired.

They stopped about fifty meters from a vacant VSTOL redoubt. Wendal looked at it through his scope. Lowering the optics from his eyes, he turned and pulled Minh back several more meters, demonstrating that the device had range finding capability.

"We will shoot from here," he announced. "Wait for me."

Wendal walked to the redoubt and forcefully planted the clipboard into the ground against the earthen berm. Minh smiled as she thought about the big holes she was about to blow through it. She could imagine what the reaction in the office would be when the clipboard was returned. The smile faded as she realized that Wendal might possibly make her return it in his stead.

_I will forget to remind Wendal because there is no one to remind me to remind him,_ Minh decided.

In the meantime, she had unfolded the bipod beneath the fore stock of the rifle and set the weapon down on the ground. She was careful to keep the barrel pointed at an oblique angle from the target while Wendal was downrange, even though he still had the ammunition. A primary rule of firearm safety was that an unloaded weapon must be considered loaded at all times. She had retracted the bolt on the breech and flipped open the protective lense covers on the scope by the time Wendal had walked back.

He instructed Minh to get herself set with the rifle. She discovered she had to empty her pockets in order to lie prone. Wendal patiently watched as she finally lay down and took the firearm in hand. After she lined the weapon up with the target, he gave her the range data she would need to adjust her fire when she began shooting. While she made sure the cross hairs were centered in the scope, he inserted a pair of aural protection plugs into his ears.

_I will have to start carrying a set with me from now on_, Minh promised herself. She was not looking forward to the explosive abuse her hearing was about to take from the powerful rifle.

She knew she could not use more than four rounds for practice. If she were to run out of ammunition, the exercise would end before it began. Wendal suggested that she load the empty magazine into the weapon. She saw the wisdom of his advice. It would make it easier to load the breech by hand. With the magazine in place, the rounds would not fall out through the receiver.

Wendal handed Minh the first round. She accepted it without losing her sight picture. The large cartridge felt heavy in her hand. She inserted it into the breech and locked the bolt behind it.

The other warriors observed the activity from a distance. The heavy duty rifle made her small form seem smaller. The hulking Elemental lying by her side only emphasized the contrast. It it were not for the weapon in her grasp, she would be the epitome of vulnerability.

Her first round punched into the dirt above and to the side of the clipboard. Her ears rang from the rifle's brutal report. She was conscious of pain in her shoulder. The weapon had kicked harder than a weapon at half it's caliber. Still, the muzzle brake had worked surprisingly well. She slowly cycled the bolt open, moving the bolt handle back with the edge of her hand so she could catch the ejecting empty cartridge. She laid it down on the ground.

Wendal spoke. Without taking her sight eye away from the graduated cross hairs, Minh made a minute adjustment to the scope. She accepted another round and she loaded it. The second shot hit directly over the board. A second adjustment put the third round next to the ink dot on the paper. The force of the impact kicked the clipboard out of the ground.

"I missed that last one by less than a quarter mil," Minh stated. Even though the clipboard had fallen, she had seen the bullet strike at that point of measurement in the scope. "I can work with this." She waved away the fourth round that Wendal offered.

"Remember that the sights are off by that amount," he cautioned her. "This target was at fifty meters. Adjust accordingly."

Minh nodded as she folded the lens covers down onto the scope and rose to a kneeling position. She restuffed the ration bars into her pockets, then accepted the rifle's remaining two cartridges from Wendal. She turned her attention to the rifle. She removed the magazine and inspected the breech to ensure it was empty before closing the bolt. She loaded the rounds into the magazine and reaffixed it to the weapon. Standing the weapon on it's butt, she folded the bipod. Regaining her feet, she picked it up and let it hang by the sling from her shoulder. She was immediately aware of a distinct tenderness where the rifle had bucked against her during firing.

"Do not let your weapon out of your sight," Wendal counseled her.

"Aff, Wendal," Minh understood what he did not say. Someone might tamper with the weapon, either by readjusting the sights or taking away the magazine.

"Come with me," he waved his hand and she accompanied him to the redoubt. For a moment, she was puzzled why he wanted her with him. As she shifted the weapon sling on her shoulder, she realized that he did not want to be downrange of her loaded weapon. It was a prudent precaution.

The two inspected the clipboard. The hole was much larger than the projectile that had created it. The jagged edges had splintered back from the kinetic energy imparted by the round. Even though the Elemental had planted the board into the ground with the back firmly against the berm, the force of the strike had been enough to knock it away from the backing.

As they returned to the building, Minh realized that she was the only person armed with a weapon of any sort. A loaded weapon. Anton, who normally armed himself with a sidearm when Minh was shooting, did not have his customary pistol.

Her optimism soared from the trust that was implied. Then she had another thought. She only had two rounds in the rifle. If she were to go crazy and turn the weapon against the warriors, she could not get off more than one round before they swarmed her.

Nevertheless, this situation marked a radical change in their relationship. She hoped it was a positive change.

With a smirk on his face, Wendal went into the building to give back the damaged clipboard.

"What did you do to it?"

Minh looked around to see if anyone else had heard the outraged demand. The first person she saw was Salen, who was coolly observing her. Minh returned the attention with a level gaze.

Wendal did not respond to the man's demand. It odd silence in the office seemed to draw out. Minh could imagine the malevolent look the Elemental was giving to someone who dared to rudely chastise a warrior.

As if in tune to the tension in the office, Minh allowed her facial features to smooth out, giving herself a distant look. The coldness that she displayed was less and less like that of a Combine citizen. It was more a mirror image of the MechWarrior before her. Something inside her, most likely pride, would not permit her to look away.

"You did not mention that you would destroy the clipboard when you borrowed it," the man spoke up in a guarded voice, breaking the silence. The man did not want to provoke a fight with such a large warrior, but he did want satisfaction.

"You had not asked," Wendal replied, his voice tinged with amusement.

Minh had heard that response made before. It was an old joke, but she smiled anyway. Salen gave her a strange look and turned away. The man in the office did not say anything and, after a lengthy pause, Wendal continued.

"I will reimburse you with a brand new one later," he promised.

The conversation taught Minh that these warriors did not take undue advantage over the other castes in the clans. Even though Wendal was having sport with the man, he was not going to make the man take a loss, even for such a relatively insignificant item. When he came back out of the building, he led her back to the assembled warriors clustered around a table.

"We will issue the equipment now," the briefing officer announced. His eyes passed over Minh's bulging pockets. "Except for yourself, whatever is on this table is all you will be allowed to take into the field."

The briefing officer had Minh's equipment on the table. A chart had been unfolded and it lay flat. Next to it was a backpack and other things. Among them was a compass and canteen. Minh picked the canteen up and confirmed that it was full. She removed the cap and made sure it was water and not something else. From the amused looks, she definitely knew that something was going on. She noticed that there was no supplemental food. That would explain Wendal's strange insistence that she load up on rations.

There was a simple first aid kit. It contained a few adhesive bandages, one large compression bandage, and some packets of alcohol-treated pads for sterilizing open cuts.

Picking up the compass, she turned it in her hands. She did not have to examine it too carefully to discover that it was non-functioning. The needle did not rotate inside the liquid filled chamber. Upon examination, she noticed signs of tampering. The seam around the case of the compass had been resealed.

"This is broken," Minh brought the deficient item to the attention of the briefing officer.

"Warriors must make do with the material at hand," the judge interjected imperiously.

Something about the test definitely stank. Despite the guarded look on her face, it was unmistakable to the others that she knew something was rotten about the situation.

_No wonder the Elementals are unhappy_, she comprehended. As she looked at the large warriors, she caught sight of a man passing behind Wendal. He held an amber light wand in each hand. He saw the cluttered table top and opened his mouth to speak. Noticing Wendal, he visibly changed his mind and snapped his mouth shut. Minh had the feeling that this was the man that Wendal had spoken to in the office. He continued walking toward the edge of the tarmac.

She put what little gear she had been issued into the backpack, even the useless compass. It did not take long for her to accomplish. All that was left loose on the table was the chart.

In a matter-of-fact voice, the briefing officer explained that Keen would be the proctor for the test, tasked with ensuring that Minh did not violate the primary rule.

"You are not allowed to target live personnel," he said. "That term 'live' is not a redundancy. Your target will be a simulated person. The use of deadly force is not authorized against anything other than your assigned target."

The logic was simple enough to Minh. The rule clued her in that there would be other people involved in the exercise, thus the prohibition against targeting live personnel. The precaution made perfect sense in a live fire exercise. It was unthinkable that she would go out and purposely shoot someone in a practice setting.

With a sense of dread, she recalled that the warriors here did risk the lives of other warriors in combat practice settings. After all, she had witnessed Salen's test against three BattleMechs. She had killed one pilot and injured a second one. Would the live personnel involved in Minh's exercise have the same prohibition regarding the use of deadly force against her? She assumed they would be warriors while she was only a bondswoman.

She was then charged with a second rule.

"You must complete the mission with the rifle. You must not lose it. You will not permit it to become damaged."

Minh understood the logic behind that as well. The rifle was a valuable piece of equipment, much too good for a bondswoman to have at hand. Because of that, it was important that she take good care of it. She needed to demonstrate her reliability.

The rule made her feel better about the potential threat to herself. They would not use deadly force against her. She could drop her weapon as a result of a successful attack. It was small comfort, but enough to satisfy her.

Minh became aware of the sound of an aircraft. She looked up. The plane appeared over the trees in the distance and approached. It had stubby wings centrally located on top of the fuselage. The propeller-equipped engines were attached to the wing tips. The arriving aircraft had the attention of the group clustered around the table.

Getting close, the aircraft slowed and transitioned for vertical landing. The plane was a Vertical and Short Take Off and Landing craft. The propellers tilted upward and the VSTOL smoothly came to a stop in the air. The man on the field held his arms out at shoulder level, the amber wands pointed away. Being daylight, they were not lit. He moved his arms in a downward flapping motion and the plane descended. Setting down gently onto the tarmac, aircraft taxied toward the man. He signaled to the aircraft by waving the wands, providing visual direction. Minh could see two aviators in the side by side seating arrangement of the cockpit, a man and a woman. Wearing dark sunglasses, each had a headset with earphones and boom microphones.

The spinning propeller blades glittered with reflected sunlight as the aircraft turned around on the parking apron in response to the man on the field. The blasting air whipped Minh's hair around her face. The briefing officer had to hold the chart down on the table to keep the turbulence from whipping it away. Wendal caught the backpack as it became airborne. At the same time, Keller helped the briefing officer hold the table down. Once the plane had completed it's turn, the prop wash was no longer being directed at them.

_That guy did that on purpose_, Minh thought. _He did not have to make the crew park the plane in that manner._

With the plane facing away, a partially open ramp beneath the raised tail assembly was revealed. Coming to a full stop, the ramp lowered all the way to the ground. The man waved one wand across his throat while pointing at the engines with the other. In response, the engines shut down and the overhead turning propellers spun slower and slower.

As the air calmed down around them, Minh bundled her hair and knotted it into a ponytail. One knot was made right behind her head and a second was placed at the tail to bind the ends together. With her long hair tied back, she looked more business-like and less like a little girl.

The man from the office walked back past the table. He had a pleased smirk on his face. The look faded when he saw Wendal turn to him. Wendal raised a hand and the man slowed his pace. He looked like a delinquent about to receive punishment. The Elemental extended his hand and pointed a finger at him.

"Touche," Wendal said. A moment passed, then he turned his attention back to the aircraft. The man picked up his step, a nervous smile in his lips. Minh could understand how he felt. If she had done something like that, she would have been pounded for it.

A man stood in the doorway of the plane. He was the one who had operated the ramp. He wore an open faced helmet that encased the rest of his head. It had a boom mike and a retractable visor that was in the raised position. He removed the helmet and hung it below the ramp control switch. As he walked down the ramp, the pilot and copilot departed the aircraft through individual doors by their seats.

When they reached the group, the briefing officer made introductions all around. Minh had been right about the man she had designated the judge. Ruling in regard to what Minh could and could not do, he would oversee everything Minh would do from the present until the end of the exercise.

The woman warrior was the range officer, who was in charge of exercise area. Having watched the bondswoman shoot with the heavy rifle, she appeared dubious about Minh's competency on her range.

Minh was surprised to see an infantryman who was not an Elemental. He was the commander of the opposing reaction force that Minh would face at the end of the exercise. Like the range master, it was clear that he was not impressed by the diminutive bondswoman. It was a typical warrior attitude that Minh had come to expect.

The pilot, copilot, and crew chief wore unit patches, identifying them as members of an auxiliary ground support squadron. In addition, the crew chief wore a rectangular pin over one chest pocket. The raised lettering on it read 'load master'. The pilot and copilot had removed their headphones but still wore their sunglasses. It bothered Minh that she could not see their eyes, which gave her a feeling of self-consciousness. These two members of the crew had metal pins shaped like a pair of wings. The man had the letters 'AC' where the wings joined at the center of the pin.

The pilot had been introduced as the aircraft commander, which explained the 'AC' designation on his pin. Minh knew he would be the pilot in command of the plane. The other two members of the crew were not introduced, but it was obvious to everyone what their functions were.

The briefing officer asked the pilot if the crew had deployed the proctor. The pilot put forward his fist with thumb raised in affirmation. The briefer then turned to the others and explained that the proctor was Keen. He was already in the field waiting for the exercise to start. Turning to Minh, he went on to explain that Keen would be observing the examinee during the exercise. He would remain out of sight and would not interfere with her unless she should become a danger to the other warriors involved in the exercise. Minh's self-consciousness grew to paranoia knowing that she would be tracked unseen.

"You will be evaluated in an independent scout exercise," he continued to inform her. "Armed and equipped as you are right now, you will find and strike your assigned target. The exercise is over, either upon your successful departure from the area or in the event of your capture.

"In addition, this is yours. Do not lose it," he indicated the map to her. No one mentioned that he had already come close to losing it himself.

"The aircraft will fly low level in a simulated infiltration behind enemy lines. It will make several mock insertions at various LZs to prevent the simulated enemy observers from knowing where the simulated team debarks." As Minh understood it from the repeated terms of 'simulated', just as there were no enemy observers, neither did she lead a team. It would be only her. And the proctor, of course.

At least until she made her shot. At that time, the reaction team would join in and chase her.

The briefing officer indicated the landing zone she would use, the location of the target, and the extraction point. It did not escape Minh's notice that the reaction team leader was privy to her operational information. The briefing officer noticed her sharp look at the man.

"The reaction team will know where you are when you take your shot anyway. There is only one place where you will have a direct line of sight to the target. The only thing the reaction team will not know was when you shoot. They are not allowed to interdict you until after you fire on the target."

It would be a race. The object: get to the firing position, strike the target, and then reach the extraction point before the pursuers could capture her. Laid out like that, it seemed so simple.

_It has to be more complicated that that_, she thought.

Minh had read maps as a tank commander. The map before her showed terrain and elevation, but little more than the exercise reserve. Clearings were marked. She traced the mountainous terrain from the projected landing zone with a finger. While she did this, her bond cord was obvious to everyone around her. The VSTOL crew especially regarded Minh with curiosity. A bondswoman with a heavy sniper rifle slung over her slight shoulder was not a common sight. They could not help but be aware that something unusual was happening.

The target and shooter's position had been noted on the chart with pencil. Using the scale listed on the map, she estimated the range to be about seven hundred meters. That was well within the effective range of the weapon. Knowing how far her sight was out of adjustment, Minh worked out the math in her head.

"It will have to do," she murmured to herself.

The briefing officer looked at her as if surprised that she even needed to say anything.

"Right," he said, then he looked around at everyone. "Okay, any questions?"

There were none. However, the air crew had a rule of their own to impose.

"Remove the magazine and open the bolt. No one brings a loaded weapon onto my bird, especially a big cannon like that," the crew chief told Minh.

"I lost hydraulics the last time I let a guy on board with a loaded gun," the pilot said seriously, adding his support to his crewman's objection. "Aircraft do not fly very well when you lose the ability to control them."

With that, the gathering broke up. Minh gave the Elementals one last look before accompanying the air crew to their VSTOL. Impassive, they gave no outward sign of approval nor support. It was the lack of malice and hostility that gave impetus to her confidence. Salen was speaking to the reaction team leader. From the tone of her voice, the conversation was purely social.

_She would_, Minh thought fitfully before putting the MechWarrior out of her mind.

At the aircraft, the crew chief had donned his helmet. A phone cord connected the head gear to the aircraft's internal communication system. It trailed behind him on the cargo deck like a leash. Minh was reminded of the system she had used in her tank before the clan updated it to a cordless version. She wondered why the system here was not cordless. He stopped Minh before she could step onto the ramp and inspected her rifle. When he pointed at the magazine, she removed it. When he held his hand out for it, she warily declined to surrender the ammunition. Instead, she placed it into her backpack. He was still not satisfied. He made her cycle the bolt so he could see that the chamber was empty.

With a wave of his hand, the crewman directed Minh up the ramp of the VSTOL. Upon boarding the aircraft, Minh saw that there were bench seats along both sides of the cabin. There was a seat at the head of the compartment that faced backwards. A partition separated the compartment from the cockpit, save for a narrow doorway between the pilot and copilot positions. The crewman made sure her belt held her securely when she sat down on the bench seat.

This was Minh's first ride in an aircraft. Her previous two trips traveling through the atmosphere on a DropShip did not really count. That had been just a ship, not a small aircraft like this. She had seen nothing outside during the trips off and back onto planet surfaces. It had been no more than a house to her. A noisy, shaking house, that is. She watched the cockpit crew start one of the wingtip engines. As the propeller began spinning, the crew chief operated a switch, causing the rear ramp door to lift from the ground. He stopped it when it was horizontal, leaving the doorway open. Minh felt exposed and unprotected. The seat belt was little comfort. She imagined her belt breaking and herself tumbling out the back. The crew chief caught her look and grinned at her discomfort.

Looking away, she blanked her expression as she sought to regain her self control. Through the partition, she could see the pilot and copilot perform what she assumed was a preflight check. The copilot was following a checklist. From where Minh sat, she could not see if the pilot had a list of his own or not.

The aircraft shook as the second engine coughed to life and the propeller began spinning. As the engines ran up to speed, the noise in the passenger cabin increased. Unable to hear herself think, Minh watched as the copilot monitored the gauges in the control panel. After several minutes, she spoke into her headset. The aircraft began to taxi, presumably under the control of the pilot because Minh could not see the copilot doing anything. The VSTOL had no sooner reached the landing strip than it began to pick itself up. As the ground dropped away, the noise was no longer being reflected back up at the plane and the volume fell to a tolerable level.

She was aware that the crew chief was watching her closely. Actually, he was keeping a close eye on her rifle. It was obvious that he did not trust her not to reload the weapon.

The aircraft soon flew over wooded areas. At the first LZ, the crew chief rose from his seat and went to the rear ramp. He spoke into his boom mike as the VSTOL descended. Minh realized he was serving as a third set of eyes for the pilots. He was watching for any obstacles, unseen from the cockpit, that could damage the aircraft as it landed. The VSTOL grounded with a gentle jolt and remained in the clearing for about half a minute. That was time enough for troops to leap out of the aircraft and take to the field.

Minh tried to correlate what she could see out of the rear door of the plane with what she remembered from the map. She wanted to look at it again, but it was inside her backpack. She did not want to risk putting her rifle down to get the map out. She could imagine the damage that could happen to the scope if the aircraft were to suddenly jolt. The ride was not that rough, but she would not put it past the pilot to do something like that on purpose. Given how the exercise had been conducted so far, it was only logical that the air crew would contribute their own pitfalls to her mission. When they paused at the second landing zone, Minh was sure that something was wrong. The elevation of that LZ had been marked as a peak on the map. Instead, the terrain rose up around them. Either the LZs were marked in the wrong places or the plane was visiting them in the wrong order. Minh knew she would have to take action.

She watched the terrain, trying to reconcile what she saw with her map. Some of what she saw was mountainous, but it did not seem very steep from her soaring view. It was only as they landed that the shape of the ground seemed to spring up, towering over them. She knew that she would be hopelessly lost if she left the plane at her assigned landing zone number. The alleged landing zone. The briefing officer had made sure she understood that she had to disembark at the fifth LZ. She was feeling very uneasy when the aircraft visited the third clearing. Most of the landing areas were in similar terrain and she was afraid she would not be able to tell them apart. Coming in the fourth, she could see a river she remembered from the chart.

_This is it_, she decided as she unbuckled her belt.

xxXxxxXxx

Back at the base, it was reported that Minh had departed the VSTOL at the wrong landing zone. The Elementals looked at each other. The girl had figured it out. There was a question of disqualification among the warriors, namely the briefing officer and range officer. The judge ruled that, as she was acting as her own team leader per se, he would grant her the point of making 'on the scene' decisions. Keen would to be contacted and informed of the change of landing zone. Keen would be out of position for direct observation, but he would be able to find her by following her beacon.

"No problem," Keen radioed back in confirmation.

The VSTOL was instructed to continue their landings. It was a training opportunity for them as well as for Minh.

After all communication was completed, the judge noted that the exercise would not take all day after all. The manner in which he had stated it suggested that Minh would fail.

xxXxxxXxx

Concealed from the air by the overhanging branches of the trees, Minh checked the map. She saw that her location was not much much farther from her objective than her assigned LZ had been. In fact, according to the brief, the LZ where she had just debarked at was supposed to be the first one the VSTOL landed in.

Taking time to orient herself, she noted an LZ in a large clearing listed on the chart. The plane had not touched down there, but she had a sneaking suspicion that it would have been the fifth one. It was also farthest from her objective.

Minh's suspicious nature manifested itself, reinforcing her paranoia. The briefing officer had stated that the reaction team would not deploy until after she took her shot at the target. Given that nothing seemed to be going right, she did not believe she would remain alone in the forest for the exercise. She did not know how Keen would find her, but she had a feeling there had to be more observers looking for her. It was a big forest and she did not know how he could hope to find her, much less enforce the primary rule that she had to follow.

Unless he was already watching the firing point.

Minh checked to make sure her ammunition was secure inside her backpack. She did not want to lose it. She decided that she would not load her weapon yet. The thought of the magazine falling free of the weapon without her notice was unsettling. By the same token, she would not put a cartridge in the chamber. An accidental discharge could inadvertently set the reaction team into motion.

She was about to close her backpack when she remembered her bulging pockets. Now that she was in the field, there was no one to prevent her from rearranging her belongings. Keeping a couple of food bars in her chest pocket to snack on, she stuffed the rest into her pack.

She did not have to maintain her silence for the exercise, but her effort demonstrated the depth of her apprehension and distrust of the situation. She seemed to know where she was going, despite the broken compass. Even though there was a trail in the direction she wanted to go, she avoided using it. Instead, she followed it from the side at several meters away. Even though she was small, the branches caught at her and she cringed at the noise as they slapped back into place as she passed. As a result, she had slowed her pace and eased through the branches, guiding them back carefully.

While Minh was occupied in teaching herself how to move while evading detection, Keen was using a hand-sized tracking unit that informed him of her progress. It was a simple device that indicated direction and range of the tracking beacon attached to her weapon. The range was calculated by the strength of the signal.

The location beacon was fashioned like a rivet in the sling on the rifle. That was the reason Minh had been admonished not to lose the weapon nor let it become damaged. Minh was unaware that the device even existed.

Knowing her location, Keen could guess the path Minh would have to follow to reach the objective. He knew she would have to make a detour. There was a ravine ahead of her, unmarked on her map.

He decided to intercept her, but he would not make contact. He would remain out of her sight.

Sometimes, the hand unit lost the signal when he circumvented hills and passed into depressions in the ground. It was the intervening terrain that blocked the signal, since it traveled by line-of-sight.

Less than a couple of hours later, Keen located Minh while she forded the river. With her rifle held over her head, she stepped carefully to maintain her footing. He watched her with approval as she felt her way across with her feet.

Out of the water, Minh moved like a ghost, almost insubstantial in her care of movement. Keen could detect the trail she was leaving, but her sound discipline was excellent. Careful to avoid coming into contact with the brush where possible, she held branches and kept them from slapping back into place when contact was unavoidable. She was not entirely successful every time, but her skill was better than he would have normally expected.

Her avoidance of trails showed she seemed to know what she was doing. It was a common practice to plant traps on trails, where traffic was expected to utilize the easier footing. He saw that Minh had discovered a path that led directly where she had to go, but she went out of her way not to use it. In traversing the harder paths, her route was unpredictable. If traps had been set, it was unlikely that they would have been placed where Minh could trip them.

When she stopped for a break, she sat against a tree and ate half of a ration bar. Such careful movement used up a lot of energy. She brought out her canteen and held it up over her mouth to get the last few drops of water out of it. She looked back the way she had come, obviously thinking of the river she had crossed. The disgust on her face was evident as she realized she had missed an opportunity to refill her canteen. Keen smiled to himself. Picking herself up, she gave one last look toward the distant river before continuing on her way.

Keen knew that Minh would be better off not drinking the untreated river water. She was unaccustomed to the microorganisms that resided within it. The microscopic bugs had little effect on Elementals such as himself, but the bondswoman could become very ill.

Without water, she would be okay if she maintained her steady progress. At the rate she was moving, he did not expect her to become dehydrated before the end of the exercise. She was performing well for someone not trained as infantry. It did not hurt that his Elemental point had conditioned her body to an effective level of physical fitness. He backed away from his observation spot and followed a trail to get ahead of her.

xxXxxxXxx

The weather was moderate, giving Minh a cooling breeze whenever she crested any hills. Keeping under the cover of the trees meant that she was in shade much of the time, but her exertions seemed to cancel out that benefit. It was midday when she reached her objective. The sun was overhead, not yet setting in front of Minh, making her grateful that she had not arrived later. The glare of the sun would have been in her eyes. At first glance, the shot appeared to be nearly impossible to make anyway.

Staying in the protective cover of the underbrush, Minh surveyed the panorama before her. Being at the top of a bluff, the firing point had an unimpeded view of the target area. There was a paved road that originated somewhere beyond the mountain to the right. The road followed the bluff at mid-height, crossing a ravine below the firing point and traveling around the point to a second bridge. It was that second bridge that Minh had to egress to after she made her shot. As she took in the scenery, she realized that there was something wrong with what she was seeing.

Minh sat down and opened her map. She did not remember seeing the ravine fork off between her and the bridge. Comparing the chart to the ground before her, it was obvious that the map was incomplete. No surprise there.

The bluff to her left was not as high as the ground to her right. The incline was not as extreme, providing her with a path toward the second bridge. What made it difficult was that she had to climb the ravine to reach that bridge.

Her limbs shook from the physical labor she had just undergone as well as the lack of water. The glaring limitations of the map had just added confirmation to the knowledge that she had been set up to fail. With the exception of Keen's point, the other warriors did not want her to succeed. She wondered why she should bother with the rest of the exercise. No matter how hard she tried, the others would not credit her with her efforts. She would be better off with the bondswomen and the techs. She had friends there, friends who were not constantly testing her.

Tired and thirsty, her discouragement was complete. She looked around bleakly.

"I quit."

The words, spoken in the silence of the wilderness, seemed to have a profound effect on her. It was as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. The stress of pressure to perform was gone. She was free from the demands of the exercise. She was only a bondswoman after all. It was not as if she was expected to succeed. She could go back and disappear into the background, just one more bondswoman. One more nobody. Unnoticed, no one would know she was a failure. No one would suspect that of her, much less expect very much from her.

After folding and putting the map away, she picked herself up. She was lightheaded with the relief that she would not be making the shot after all. Looking down at the target zone again, she noted the difficulties of the shot.

A laser would have been easier to use. It was a line of sight weapon, unaffected by the gravitational pull of the planet. Wind would not deflect the energy beam.

The estimated range from the firing point to the target seemed inaccurate. Minh eyed the distance critically. It was much farther than the seven hundred meters marked on the map. That would make it beyond the effective range of the rifle, but she thought it might still be within maximum range. That was small comfort. At maximum range, her marksmanship would be unreliable. After all that had happened, it did not surprise her that this tidbit of information would be wrong as well. Given the lay of the land, it would be impossible to get closer to the target and still maintain visual contact. The terrain fell too steeply in front of her and the trees had grown too thickly together on the incline to her left.

The small clearing where she was supposed to shoot from showed signs of previous shooting activity. There was a section of log and a makeshift sandbag made from an old jacket stuffed with dirt. A few tarnished shell casings littered the ground.

She turned to leave.

It would be a long walk, she realized. She had been given the impression that there would be someone waiting for her at the bridge. Looking down at it, she could see that there was no one there.

Perhaps the shot that activated the reaction team would summon the transportation that was supposed to meet her at the bridge as well. She toyed with the thought of going to the bridge and making the shot from there.

No, that would not work. The bridge was too low to permit a view of the target.

_What am I thinking?_ she thought.

She had just quit, yet her mind was still trying to find a solution. She stood there as she considered her options.

Option one. She would go without firing a shot. The task was too large for her, after all.

Two. She could take her shot and get this over with. Since no one expected her to succeed, it would not be much of a loss when she missed.

Three. She would take the shot and try to hit the target, because she would not play to lose.

Option three was not really much more than the second option. The only difference was her attitude when making the shot. In considering the third option, she realized that she had already made her decision.

"I do not quit."

As she said those words, her sense of relief did not go away. There was no pressure as she realized that she would do her best. She wondered if she had been afflicted by performance anxiety. The concept flittered through her mind, then was quickly forgotten as she set to work.

Minh would not use any of the prepared shooting rests. They were out in the open for anyone to see. She would instead remain in concealment and create her own position.

She found a spot between two trees where she had a clear view of the target area. Unlike the level shooting site, the ground she had chosen to set up at was sloped downward. She set her weapon up on the bipod first. Then she removed the pack from her back and she lay down. Taking the weapon into her arms, she found the way she was laying was uncomfortable. Her feet were higher than her head. In addition, the rifle barrel was too low to bear on the target. She rose up and prepared her weapon by building up a dirt mound beneath the bipod. She checked her sight picture repeatedly, packing more dirt under the bipod each time. Eventually, she was satisfied with her firing position.

Now that Minh was ready, she installed the magazine into the receiver behind the trigger assembly and lay back down. As she craned her neck to put her eye to the scope, she found herself shaking. She remembered Wendal's words to her earlier that morning. She needed energy. She sat back up and reached for her backpack.

_I can do this_, she thought as she dug a ration bar out of the pack and slowly nibbled at it. Trying to relax, she did not look anywhere but concentrated on the act of eating. The importance of hitting the target made it a daunting task. Her fate with the clan hung in the balance. Rather than continue to dwell on it, she forced herself to empty her mind of tension. Her nerves steadied as she consumed the ration, and with that came patience. With renewed energy, she returned to her rifle.

Peering through the telescopic sight, she saw that the target was a silhouette of a head and torso. It was framed by a window in a wall.

As she lined up her shot, she observed the target begin to move. Surprised, she watched it with the realization that the difficulty of the shot had increased yet again.

The silhouette turned in place, narrowing and expanding as it rotated. It turned sporadically. Sometimes it stayed sideways for long moments. In side mode, it would move and then face the window again at another position. Moving infrequently, there was no regular pattern that Minh could discern.

While she aimed, she had the urge to adjust the cross hairs in the scope to where she thought they should be at. She fought that impulse down. The shot would be difficult enough without messing up the sights. The range was indeterminate, making her calculations with her sights unreliable. Watching the branches of the trees move from the force of the wind, she would have to take even more care with windage by aiming the cross hairs to the side. In addition to the range, she had to take the natural drop of the bullet into account. For that, she had to aim over the target as well. With so many variables for her to keep in mind, the fact that the target was moving made hitting it all but impossible. The only factor that she was sure of was the amount of how far her sights were off.

She took careful aim.

xxXxxxXxx

"Shooter in position."

"Say again?"

"Shooter in position," Keen repeated in a quiet voice that he knew Minh would not be able to hear in the distance. He was in contact with the range officer. It was quiet for a lengthy pause.

"Roger that," she acknowledged.

He watched Minh as she prepared to shoot from her place of concealment. The range officer could not see the bondswoman from her observation post. The OP had a direct line of sight to the prepared sniper's point. The reason for the pause in response was that the range officer was unable to see Minh.

Like Minh, he lay in the shade of the trees. That kept his rifle from reflecting sunlight. As long as he did not move, he would not attract her attention and she would not know where he was. His rifle was a standard sniping weapon, ideally suited for killing men and man sized game animals. His weapon was loaded with a cartridge in the chamber, but the safety was on and his finger was away from the trigger. Using the scope as a monocular, he continued to watch the bondswoman.

He saw her sit up and eat. Her manner suggested that she was merely taking a break. Her expression showed that she did not have a single care in the world. His mind flashed back to when he first saw her at the gunner's position of her tank. He had been an immediate threat to her, but she was unable to defend herself from his battle armor. Ultimately, she did not try. Instead, she ignored him to make her shot against Salen's OmniMech. She could do nothing else so she had dismissed him, taking the only action open to her.

xxXxxxXxx


	12. Chapter 10 Part 2

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Ten Part 2 by D G Palmer

Minh took her time. With the bipod holding the barrel up, she only had to support the butt of the rifle with her elbow grounded on a second mound of dirt. Instead of relying on the strength of her arm muscles, she was using her internal bone structure. She had a solid connection to her weapon. She concentrated on her breathing, to maintain control of her heartbeat. The pulse of her heart could throw off her aim. She was conscious of the hard ground beneath her. With the angle of her body contrary to the line of fire, she was not completely comfortable. Feeling the breeze, she heard the rustling of leaves over her head. The sunlight was briefly reflected by the light-colored target as it turned. Her finger was in contact with the trigger, lightly touching it without pressure. She only had to move one set of muscles, those in her finger, to accomplish what she had set out to do.

It was impossible to predict when the silhouette would move and turn. Rather than try to track it, she watched it move and awaited her opportunity.

She had not expected to do any of this when she had first awakened that morning. Whatever happened, she could be proud that she had made it this far.

She fired while she still had half a breath to expel, the weapon bucking against her shoulder. The explosive report of the rifle flushed bird life with the thunderous fluttering of their wings.

If no one knows where I am, they do now, she thought as the birds took flight from the surrounding trees.

She remained in place, watching for any sign that she had hit the target. At the extreme range she was firing from, she would be unable to see any hole the bullet made.

The target slowly toppled.

Minh felt a sense of surprised satisfaction. She had not really expected to hit it. The elation ended all too soon when she saw that the target fell toward her! If she had knocked the target over, it should have fallen away from her. Why was it falling forward like that?

_There must be a mechanism doing that_, she thought. After all, a mechanism had been moving the target around. _That makes sense_, she belatedly realized as she continued to spy through her telescopic sight. A real sniper victim would not stand and wait to be shot at again. No wonder the range officer seemed pessimistic that Minh would be able to get all of her rounds off at the target. She was not sure that she had even hit it. There must have been a sensor down there to track the arrival of the bullet, just like the recording units at the firing range on base. Hit or miss, the target would fall. Losing her sense of optimism, she was convinced that she had missed.

_At least I can try to salvage the mission by evading capture_, she asserted.

She heard the sound of an engine starting in the distance. She looked down at the road, but did not see anything on it. It had to be her pursuers and they apparently had a vehicle.

There had been no mention that they would be motorized.

_No one said they would not be motorized neither_, she thought ruefully.

Minh sized up the situation. The reaction force did not have to leave their vehicle to hunt for her in the forbidding terrain. All they had to do was drive to the extraction point. They had a straight run to the bridge which spanned the far fork of the ravine. Minh would lose if her pursuers got there first. Even though she was closer, her path was more difficult. She would have to get down the slope and climb back up the ravine just to get to the road.

The sound of the engine grew louder. The team was getting closer. Once they reached that bridge, the mission would end in their favor. Minh's failure would then be complete.

A strange calm settled over her.

_I should be more stressed than this_, she thought analytically as she listened to the vehicle as it neared.

_I have to level the playing field_, she decided as she raised herself up on her knees. Leaving the bipod on the front mound, she swiveled the weapon around to bear on the road. She sat down on her heels and positioned the weapon against her shoulder again, aiming it downward at the road. She cycled the bolt, sending the empty brass flying end over end as it was ejected. Pushing the bolt back forward, she chambered her last cartridge.

There was only one way where the team could come from. Looking through the scope, she sought out the road. There was a specific section she was looking for and she found it. The road curved curved out farther into view. It would afford her the best shot where the vehicle would not be shielded by the bluff.

xxXxxxXxx

Keen watched Minh. This was the woman he had first met, all those months ago. Action had unlocked the professional warrior within her. He recalled Katya's words. She had said that Minh was 'not very smart.' In his opinion, he felt that Minh may actually be too smart for her own good. It was that sentiment that echoed what Katya had said about her cleverness.

With his target reticle on Minh, he had not observed what had happened to the target when she had fired. He had seen her lips part in pleasure, so he assumed that she had hit it. Her brow furling in bafflement a moment later told him that she had become dissatisfied with her shot.

He could hear the approaching vehicle. He saw that she heard it too when she shifted around and aimed her rifle down the road. He not been present when she zeroed her rifle, so he did not know she had already used up four of the five rounds of ammo she had been issued. All he knew was that there were four people in that car. Four people who would die if he did not stop her now.

He did not want to shoot her, not like this. He wished she would panic and run for the bridge. Deep in his being, he knew she would not.

He released the safety selector on his rifle, then curled his finger into the trigger guard.

Minh looked up suddenly. She could not see him, but he could see her face clearly. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes searched in Keen's general direction. He remained motionless. With the exception of his trigger finger, which she was too far to have seen, he had not moved. Yet it was as if she had known he was getting ready to fire on her. He remembered her emotional agony as she responded to his queries in that dark jail cell.

"You do not know me!" Her words ran through his mind as he stared into her face now. No, he did not know this little woman. His point had spent more time with her than he had. Even Salen was more familiar with her, yet Keen was her bondholder. As far as he knew, she had always been square with him. She had never lied to him. In their few conversations, she had been careful to express herself honestly to him.

Thinking back to the infirmary, he remembered how he felt when she had cut loose emotionally. Her loss of control showed that she was mentally unstable. That indicated to him that she was unreliable and could not be trusted. At the same time, he was dismayed by his own reaction. He hated hearing her cry. He had never experienced anything like that and did not understand it. He hoped he would never hear anything like that again.

No, he hoped Minh never did that again.

He recalled her outburst when she whipsawed from nearly inconsolable despair to heated anger, declaring her desire to shoot Ellit. That was a bloodthirsty attitude for such a demure woman like Minh, one she had never exhibited before.

It was disturbing the way she had permitted Katya to influence her mind. She had quickly gone from bloodthirsty to amenable. It had been like activating a toggle. Someone else was pushing Minh's buttons. With her emotions flipping from one extreme to the other, it appeared that the small woman really was mentally unbalanced.

On the other hand, she had not eaten. Her slender body lacked the fat reserves for any sustained endurance. Unable to keep a good mad on, it had been easier for her to acquiesce when in such a weak state.

A day later, she was now equipped with a firearm. Coupled with a potentially violent attitude, that made her a very dangerous woman.

Could he trust her judgment? Should he trust her? The vehicle would be in sight soon. In her gun sight.

He had to make a decision.

He straightened his finger, removing it from the trigger. Keeping the telescopic sight centered on Minh, he saw her relax slightly, then return her attention to her weapon. It was not possible that she could have seen him. He was too far away for her to see that minuscule movement with her unaided eyes.

Keen was more than a little unnerved by the psychic connection he had just witnessed. It had to be a coincidence.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh's eye was at the scope for barely a few seconds when the rifle went off. The sound reverberated through the hills.

Unlike her previous shot, she did not remain to see the results. After shouldering her backpack, she raised the barrel and hurriedly stowed the bipod. Snapping the lens covers closed on the scope, she was up and running, crashing through the underbrush in her haste to beat forcibly dismounted warriors to the finish.

From his vantage point above her, Keen turned his head and looked to see what she had done for himself.

xxXxxxXxx

The reaction team leader was seated next to the woman driving the open-topped reconnaissance vehicle. The driver was Asiatic with a pronounced cheekbone structure. Her shoulder-length black hair blew back from the effects of the slipstream. Had the air around her been still, her bangs would have been level with her eyebrows.

When the heavy caliber bullet struck the engine compartment, there was an explosion of greasy smoke. The woman slammed on the brakes with an involuntary shout and the four occupants instinctively bailed out of the vehicle. The driver and the warrior from the seat behind her went to ground by the bluff. The reaction team leader and the man who had been seated behind him took cover next to the car. Several moments passed before the team leader bellowed an oath.

"She is out of ammunition! She only had two rounds to begin with!"

He stood up and looked up toward the source of the firing. He saw the small bondswoman briefly through the trees as she plunged down the slope away from them.

"Francen! Will it run?" he turned to the woman.

Francen returned to the car and tried the start the engine. Something thumped, shaking the car, but nothing else happened. She shook her head.

The team leader went to open the hood over the engine when he stepped in a puddle. He looked down. Brackish looking oil and green engine coolant were pooling from underneath the car.

"Then we run! Come on!" he commanded. "She has a head start!"

The team leader took off, the man behind him close on his heels. The warrior from Francen's side of the vehicle limped at a slower pace.

Francen almost called him back, but changed her mind. Under the circumstances it was unnecessary to guard the disabled vehicle. She chose to remain with the vehicle. Getting out once more, she went to the rear of the car and pulled out a coiled tow cable. When help arrived, at least she would have the cable attached to the eyelets in front.

Francen pursed her lips in disgust when she saw the fluids emerging from the car.

xxXxxxXxx

The first shot had indeed been the signal for the others to wait for Minh at the bridge. Driven by Salen, the Elementals arrived in the truck. The range master drove down to the target area to retrieve the target for the judge. The others arrived in a third vehicle; Andre, the briefing officer, and the judge.

During the drive, they had not heard Minh's second shot, but Keen had reported it by radio. Their vehicle hit, the reaction team was proceeding on foot.

Sitting on top of the truck cab, Salen waited for the arrival of the exercise participants. She had a better view than those standing on the ground. She could hear Andre speaking to the briefing officer, the subject being Minh's unorthodox conduct. According to the briefing officer, she had performed poorly. She had proven disobedient by leaving the VSTOL too soon. By shooting up of a vehicle, she had violated the rule that she was not to fire upon live personnel. Her failure would be complete once the reaction team reached the bridge ahead of her.

xxXxxxXxx

Two warriors were jogging along the road. It had been a lengthy run for them from their vehicle, but they were pacing themselves. A third warrior lagged behind at a distance of almost a hundred meters. The men carefully watched the terrain to the side of them, looking for their quarry. There was no sign of the small woman. Ahead of them, they could see the bridge. The team leader looked at the other warrior running abreast of him. The man gave him a crooked grin. They had this exercise in the bag.

They could not see the small figure scrambling up a washed out cleft below the roadway. Thick underbrush concealed the fissure from above. The relatively clean ground provided a path up out of the ravine and Minh took full advantage of it. She could hear the running men and made an effort to control her loud breathing so they would not detect her. She had hoped to be on the road and well ahead of them already. She quickened her pace. Perhaps she could still be ahead of them.

She was almost at road level when she realized that the men were passing her at that very moment. There was no time for her to think, much less make any plans at all. Instinct took over, pure animal reflex acting in place of conscious thought.

Minh exploded out of the brush, stepping on the heel of one of the men. Unable to pick his foot up, he tumbled to the ground in a clumsy sprawl. Minh leaped over him to keep from tripping and ran to the far side of him. The team leader heard his subordinate fall. He paused to see what had happened. He assumed that the man had tripped over his own feet, not realizing that Minh was there. The woman passed him and for a moment he thought it was his other team member. That misconception did not last for long. Before she made any real headway against him, he had picked up his pace again in an attempt to grab at her trailing ponytail as it bounced against her back. The knot on the end would give him a good grip if only he could get his hand on it.

Holding her heavy rifle at port arms, Minh charged ahead. Without looking back, she could tell where he was in relation to her by his pounding feet. While trying to stay ahead of him, she drifted toward the edge of the road. The man wavered, losing headway as he angled behind her in an attempt to follow.

_This is stupid_, he thought. At this rate, if he tried to follow her like this, he would never catch her. She would cross the bridge first and he would lose the race.

With the bridge as his goal once more, he was running in the center of the road. He slowly gained on the bondswoman. As he came even with her, he saw that he was a couple arm lengths away.

_I can grab her_, he decided. _All I have to do is charge at her now_.

He changed his mind when he saw the wild look in her eyes. She brandished the heavy rifle as if she wished to use it against him. Although it was out of ammo, it would still hurt if she jabbed the muzzle brake into his ribs. He maintained a healthy distance from her, hating the knowledge that he had backed down from a caste inferior.

_I wish I had a gun. I could shoot her and be done with this nonsense_, he thought savagely. Blast that Keen anyway! He had stipulated that the reaction team would be completely unarmed.

The only solution had been a Trial of Refusal, but none of the warriors could hope to stand up to an Elemental like Keen in a Circle of Equals.

He was winded from his long run along the road. Minh was breathless as well. Just to reach the road she had to cross uneven territory. In addition, she had to lug the heavy rifle. Neither participant was able to gain on the other.

"Beat her to the bridge!" the downed man bellowed from behind.

"Run, girl, run!" Keller roared from the bridge.

The judge was standing beside Keller. He looked at the Elemental. It was clear he wanted to comment on the interference, but Keller's own look back discouraged any such discussion.

The two crossed the bridge, furious in their efforts to reach the other side before the other. As they came close to the end of their run, Minh made her move. With a savage shriek, she charged at her opponent. The team leader faltered in an attempt to fend off her apparent attack, thus losing any attempt at taking the lead. He made one last attempt to stop her by grabbing for her double-knot ponytail. Swinging behind her back as she ran, it mocked him.

Reaching the end of the bridge, Minh's chest heaved as she slowed to a stop. She dropped to her knees at the side of the road, setting the rifle on its butt as she used it as a support. After several moments, she became aware of the team leader standing over her. Wary, she looked up at him.

"Girl," he said, unable to say more because he was catching his own breath as well. He reached down and gave her shoulder a comradely squeeze. After a moment, he released her and grinned, then walked away toward the bridge. His team members were just walking up to it.

The Elementals approached Minh, observing the dust and leaves in her disheveled hair. There were welts on her face and hands where branches had whipped at her during her plunge through the brush. One leg on her coveralls was torn, showing a scratch on her calf. Her skin was shiny with the light dampness that resulted from her physical effort. Seeing the men approach, her eyes shown with her triumph.

"She should be sweating more than that," Keller mentioned to Batiste.

He was correct. The lack of perspiration was evidence that Minh was dehydrated. She looked almost faint as she blinked repeatedly. Anton strode up to her kneeling form and took hold of her rifle. Still breathing deeply, she was reluctant to release her grip on the weapon.

"I will take this," he told her with surprising gentleness. He had the strength to take it from her by force, but did not do so. "Go sit in the shade. We do not want you to fall on your face, especially since you have begun to look presentable once more."

Coming from any Elemental and Anton in particular, that was high praise indeed. She released the rifle to the giant warrior. Rising on shaky legs, she walked to the truck and sat down again with her back to a wheel. Batiste met her there, a canteen cup in hand. Minh accepted it, discovering that it held only a swallow of water. She looked up at him in askance. Surely she was entitled to more than such a miserly amount.

"If you drink too much too fast, you will get sick," he explained.

Minh drank it quickly, despite her resolve to sip. The harsh muscular contraction of her unrestrained swallowing hurt her throat. She held up the cup and Batiste splashed in a meager amount with each refill. She wanted to grab the canteen from him so she could drink directly from it. It would have been pointless to try, since he was much stronger than she was.

As she consumed the water, she began to break out in a sweat. Her coveralls began to stick to her skin.

Keen arrived just as Batiste handed her the canteen. Containing less than a swallow, she was able to drink it with a careful swig. Holding it over her open mouth, she tried to get the last drops out of it.

Even though she was hydrated, she was still thirsty. She did not complain when Batiste refused to give her any more water for a while. The last thing she wanted to do was get sick in front of everybody. She handed the empty canteen to Batiste, then accepted her rifle back from Anton just in time for the judge to approach her.

"Weapon inspection," he announced.

There was a ritual that soldiers performed when handing firearms over for examination. Minh's brief stint in the militia had made her conversant in the method, but the judge did not allow her an opportunity to demonstrate what she knew. He seized it without ceremony and she released the weapon to him. She watched him open the bolt. The empty brass case spun from the breech and sailed over Minh's right shoulder. Moving almost too fast to be followed, she caught the large casing. Her hand remained motionless overhead as she observed the cautious postures of the others around her. Her unexpected quick movement had startled them.

"Excellent reflexes," the judge noted, then he returned his attention back to the rifle. "Bore unobstructed. Weapon apparently functional." He opened the scope covers and peered through the sight. Closing the sight, he returned the weapon to Minh with a satisfied nod.

"You can put that back in your box," Keen spoke from behind her. "I believe we can entrust it to your keeping as an issue weapon."

Batiste and Keller had manhandled the box down from the flatbed of the truck. Minh's name had been stenciled onto the box above the handles on each end. She had not noticed that before. She could not miss seeing the grins on their faces. For a moment, she wondered why they seemed so pleased, then she realized that her own face showed her surprise.

"If I did not know better, I would think that you like me," she blurted without thinking.

"What an ignorant thing to say," Anton responded. "Of course we like you."

The young woman almost preened. Once more, Anton had surprised her.

Hearing the exchange, Salen frowned as she climbed down from the truck. The Elementals were being too soft on the bondswoman. In her opinion, she was far from reformed. Her activities two days before proved that. There were a number of things that remained unexplained. What had Minh been doing out of the barracks without permission? Why was she associating with undesirable individuals? What had happened to cause the death of one and the wounding of another?

Then there was the question of this test. Normally it was used to evaluate the character of fledgling warriors. Those without warrior standing had no business participating in it. At least some prudence had been demonstrated by arming the proctor, but Salen would not have chosen Keen. He was too close emotionally. He should not have permitted Minh to fire on the scout car. She did not know why Keen had held back, but Salen would have put the bondswoman down if she had been proctor. The protective manner in which the Elementals seemed to have recently bestowed upon the small woman added to her suspicions.

Salen turned away from them with contempt. That was when her attention centered on Andre, who seemed to be waiting for the range master to drive up. She did not understand his interest in Minh, but suspected that he wanted to gain custody over her.

The Elementals wanted to keep her. Andre wanted to get her from them. Salen wanted...

What did Salen want?

She had hated Minh the first day they had met, when she had believed Minh to be an underage combatant. The little witch had disabled her OmniMech while ignoring the threat of an armored Elemental standing over her gunnery position. Over the months, her opinion had changed, but she could not say why. Minh was too small and frail to be an effective warrior, much less train as an Elemental. Not yet twenty years old, it was likely she had reached her maximum growth. With her childlike appearance, she would never be treated with the same respect as others her age. Up until Minh had fled her company at the restaurant, Salen had developed a fondness for the girl. A fondness that she had yet to feel again.

She did not understand why she felt such strong emotion where Minh was concerned. They had never really been friends, just acquaintances. Everything she had done up to this time had been a matter of luck, not skill. She had done nothing to stand out, to demonstrate her worthiness to become a warrior. She did not know why she even cared for this individual. Be that as it may, the girl had a lot to answer for.

With all of the activity going on around her, Minh was oblivious to Salen's disapproval. She heard the sound of an engine and saw the range master arrive. The woman had Minh's target in the back of her vehicle. When she parked, the judge approached her and the two conversed. Like the others around her, Minh was drawn toward them, curious to discover how well she had performed. Stepping through the gathering group, she saw the silhouette. There was a hole at the top of the shoulder, half-on and half-off.

Minh was pleasantly surprised. From the way the target had fallen, she had believed she had missed.

"Had that powerful rifle struck a real person, that flesh wound would have been seriously debilitating, even mortal," the judge was saying.

"I can only imagine what she can do with a weapon properly zeroed-in," the range master commented. "That was an excellent shot."

"Given the irregularity of her conduct on the course, her inability to follow simple instruction," the judge went on as if she had not spoken, "and the assistance she received at the start of the exercise, I will have to deduct points from her performance."

"Aff," the range master nodded. She pointed at the target.

"Since it was not a clean hit, I will deduct points from that as well. Then there is the fact that she fired on the reaction team."

"Interesting improvisation."

"It is that," the judge gave Minh a measuring look. "Given all of the obstacles and difficulties that were thrown at her, she did not give up. That one is not a quitter. She passes."

_I did quit_, Minh thought guiltily. _For a moment, I had walked away. It was only with a sense of resignation that I went through with the shot._

Her thoughts turned over the other comments the judge had made about her. The way he said 'irregularities' made it sound like she had cheated. Yes, she had cheated. Wendal had given her an unfair advantage. If he had not stuffed her pockets with food bars, would she have been able to perform so well? She knew her food intake had been a factor when she shot. Her energy level had enabled her to shoot calmly and in a relaxed manner.

Her experience here had taught her a lesson. Plan ahead for the unexpected. She could not foresee every contingency, but at least she could prepare herself.

"Will your decision stand?" Batiste interjected himself into their conversation.

"Nobody messes with my verdict. I will meet them in the Circle," the judge looked pointedly at Andre. "I say she passes."

Minh followed his look, noticing Andre for the first time. That brown leather jacket he wore was a very distinctive garment. It surprised her that she had not noticed him before.

A pang of fear lanced through her middle. A light headed feeling came over her. That was not unusual, given her physical state of exhaustion. She blanked her expression, hoping that she had managed to conceal her emotion from him.

Andre kept silent, even though it appeared he wanted to take issue with the verdict.

Why was he here? He seemed to be disappointed. Had he wanted her to fail? Why? Minh puzzled over the possible implications.

The sound of muttering interrupted her rumination. Looking around, she could not help but discern the Elementals' look of distaste. It was obvious the man was as unwelcome to them as he was to her. Showing no sign that he was aware of the Elemental's hostility, the man departed with the range master. As the two drove away, Keller made a growling comment.

"Andre is always snooping around."

Andre. Until that moment, she had not known his name. Recalling his interrogations, Minh had not liked the way he had snooped inside her head. The fear that had just surfaced was converting to intense dislike.

The judge turned to Minh.

"You realize that you were not supposed to succeed here," he said. "You were brought out here to evaluate your ability to handle stress. This was not a true test of your mettle."

Minh did not know how to respond. It sounded like to her that, by passing the course, she had failed the exercise.

Keen knew what the judge meant. It would have been better if she had failed. The judge would have liked to have seen how she dealt with failure, but Keen already knew. He had seen how she dealt with defeat in combat and the shock of battle. Expecting death at his hands, she remained cool under the stress of his attack. With one battle under her belt, she could consider herself a veteran. It was that single experience that had thrown off the results of the evaluation. The exercise was meant to test inexperienced, unblooded warriors. Minh was definitely not unblooded.

The team leader was standing to the side with Keen. He spoke with the larger man in a low voice.

"If you guys were able to make Minh this successful, I can only imagine what you can do for someone normal sized," he said.

"It has nothing to do with size. It is all drive," Keen replied. "Minh is driven."

It was obvious that the young woman was motivated to succeed. The question in Keen's mind was her dedication. What was her goal? More importantly, was that goal compatible to the mission of Clan Wolf?

"If, for some reason, she does not make it as an Elemental, she has a home with us."

Keen regarded the warrior silently. Although he understood the sentiment, such an outcome would be unwelcome to him. Overhearing a conversation nearby, he was saved from saying anything else. He had seen Salen's aloof stance, but now she had wandered back among the Elementals.

"I do not believe it," Salen shook her head. This was not the outcome she had expected from what had been a demoralized bondswoman.

"Jealous?" Keller asked her with a smirk.

"How well did you do?" Salen demanded.

"Apparently by your attitude, better than you did," Batiste chuckled.

"Where is the wisdom of letting her keep a weapon like that?" she demanded. "She can cause a lot of damage with it should she put her mind to it."

"You will note that she was not issued ammunition for it."

Yes, Minh was rewarded if not entirely trusted.


	13. Chapter 11

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Eleven by D G Palmer/1

Fort Bivouac Warrior Testing Preserve

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

25 July 3051

The fine-boned young Asian woman was very slight in appearance; most noticeable when compared to the large Elementals with whom she spent her company. Among those of average size, she was merely short in relation to them. With her diminutive body mass, her muscles had not bulked up. Rather, they had toned down, making her appear thinner. The constant exercise she was subjected to had served to burn off her caloric intake.

Working out with these men had given her an extremely healthy endurance. Still, without the additional body fat to draw off energy resources, she was not as long lasting as the typical Elemental. Most of her power came from the speed of her quick reflexes.

During the time since she had returned from her unauthorized sabbatical, Minh had become very private, making her unintentionally mysterious. An unprepossessing person, she was not exactly aloof. She kept her own council, but she freely associated with the others around her. Looking at her, no one knew what she was thinking, but her manner did not communicate any threat.

Following Minh's surprising success at the warrior character evaluation, Keen starting taking Don from the armory on a daily basis. Sometimes Don would wait for Keen to pick him up at the armory. At other times, he would arrive late. The other Elementals did not seem concerned. Minh noted his absence, but no one offered an explanation and, true to her nature, she never asked. He frequently appeared tired, as if he were working longer hours. It was not uncommon to find him asleep at the workbench, his head resting on folded arms while he sat on a stool. No comment was ever made about that, even though the Elementals had previously treated him in a strict manner. He never let on what Keen had him doing, even when Nagatake asked him. Don refused to tell him what was going on.

Nagatake was involved in a project of his own. He had drawn a series of engineering drawings of a slightly curved object. According to his scale, it would be a bit more than two-thirds of a meter long when manufactured. It was a bokken, otherwise known as a wooden sword. Of ancient Japanese origin, it was a martial arts weapon predominantly used in training. So far as he knew, the clans did not have them.

He would be taking the drawings into town to a craftsman that specialized in the manufacture of wood products. It was his intention to present it to Minh as a training tool. He hoped to develop in her a sense of responsibility and discipline. He did not like the way she was becoming clan-like. She was imitating the arrogant and aggressive mind set of the warriors. He was afraid she would lose touch with the gentler side of their culture.

Months ago, in order to correct the young woman's self-destructive behavior, Nagatake had told Minh to think for herself. It had been his fault to begin with. She had been typical of the idealized Draconis Combine woman. She had been subservient and easily controlled, which was fine for the home worlds. However, this was not home. He found her emulation of clan culture disturbing. Upon seeing her for the first time after the battle where he had assumed she had died, he savagely criticized her for her cooperation with her captors. It was his chastisement that had led to her to attempt suicide. He had not meant for that to happen. After the attempt, her irrational behavior led to her physical restraint in the JumpShip infirmary.

He was ashamed that he had to be coerced into correcting his wrong. He remembered his second talk to her. He remembered the sight of her strapped down, a thick bandage over her throat. With their common cultural background, he thought he knew what he was doing. Looking back, he regretted telling her to think for herself. He was concerned that he had made a mistake. Since then, he had been dissatisfied with the decisions she had been making. This was not the outcome he had envisioned. He had expected her to return to her combine cultural roots. Speaking to her again would be counterproductive. She would see him as a hypocrite if he were to tell her that she had made wrong choices for herself.

Then there were the warriors. Given the amount of attention they were giving the two combine expatriates, they would see what he was trying to do. They surely would not permit him to undo all the work they had invested in her. On the other hand, he could communicate with her on another level. She had shown an aptitude in martial arts. If he could guide her on an emotional level, using the physical activity to mold her, perhaps he could still save her.

Nagatake had become aware of the Warden and Crusader factions of the clans. Wardens wanted to let the Inner Sphere solve their own problems without interference, only stepping in should periphery pirate kingdoms choose to intrude. The Crusaders wanted to invade and bring order to the houses of the Inner Sphere by force. However, there was more to the situation than the simplistic invader versus defender points of view.

He was concerned that Minh was developing a Crusading belief. She had expressed a desire to resurrect the Star League, claiming that the clans were the descendants of that army that had vanished three hundred years before. It had been difficult for him to believe her at first. These people were so alien with their tribal customs. With her close proximity to the Elementals, Minh had adopted many of their mores. He could tell that she wanted to be a part of the process, to help bring it about, even if it meant the fall of the inner sphere.

No, he did not like the cultural change in her at all.

Watching Minh's conversion was not unlike seeing the Draconis Combine become adulterated. Formerly a member of the troops he had led, the young woman was his only link with the past. Symbolizing everything he had known, the change he saw in her was representative of what could happen to his home worlds.

Nagatake did not want outsider influence in the Draconis Combine, neither through clan intervention nor by conventional means. He supposed that would ally him with the Wardens, even though he did not consider himself a member of the clan. Thus it was his desire to temper the influence of the Elementals over Minh.

Months ago, Minh had asked him for help in training the women she was barracked with. Recalling that episode, it gave him an idea on how to limit what was happening to her now.

He would become her sensei. It was important to him that he did not alienate her again.

Nagatake was not alone in observing Minh's progress. The warriors in the dining facility also took note of the change of interaction between the Elementals and their bondswoman.

Previously, the warriors had given voice to their objection to the slender woman. Lately, their dirty looks and commentary had become infrequent. Minh assumed that the caste conscious clanners were tiring of trying to goad her out of her placid demeanor. It did not occur to her that perhaps they were developing a grudging respect for her.

In the matter of respect, Minh noticed that Elementals received a higher regard than "unconventional" clan infantry, a term she had herself given to those not of Elemental blood stock. However, in this warrior society, MechWarriors placed highest. On the other hand, AeroSpace Pilots and aircraft pilots were respected based on their equipment and specialties.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh moved lithely through the assault range. Her movement was graceful but not delicate. The smooth motion expressed confidence. Peering through yellow tinted shooting glasses, she held the semi-automatic pistol before her in both hands. With her hair tied back, her peripheral vision was unimpaired. Over her jumpsuit she wore a holster with two spare magazines in flap covered pouches. Though capable of holding fifteen rounds, she was instructed to fill the magazines to only ten rounds each. The surplus ammunition remaining in the box was in another pouch on her belt.

The active shooting range was programmed to provide an unlimited amount of targets. Battles were never preplanned. Minh had been given vague operation orders. Unlike the sniper evaluation where Minh had been set up to fail, the purpose of these exercises was to train her. The shooter was graded on the location of hits and number of shots made against each target, as well as the time taken by the shooter in expending ammunition. The session over when she was out of ammunition.

As an interactive shooting range, the targets fell when hit. Each run was different each time. There was no rhythm or pattern. After two runs, Minh had become confident. It came as a surprise on the third training run when the targets shot back at her. She had not been informed that the firing range was capable of that. The low-powered lasers inflicted stings that left red welts on her exposed skin. Strikes on her coveralls merely felt warm to her flesh underneath.

By now Minh had completed the course seven times. After each run, she had been debriefed. Her mistakes, of which she had made many, were pointed out to her and she had been provided with correction.

The farther that Minh went into the range, the greater the difficulty. Targets began to double team against her as she discovered when she was pinned down behind an obstacle. She backed away to dive across an open area. She opened herself to a target that revealed itself from a spot that she had previously determined to be unoccupied. It shot her twice before she could leap forward. Two other targets fired at her as she passed through the open area. One heated her bottom, damaging her dignity.

I will get some choice comments about that one, she thought. She had come to dread the after exercise critiques. It was not the criticism, but the humor that accompanied it.

She peered back from concealment across the open area, her pistol in hand. She could not see the three targets she had passed up.

This will hurt my score, Minh thought furiously. Three strikes and three untouched targets.

xxXxxxXxx

"That tanned your tail."

Minh did her best to ignore the predictable remark as she watched her recorded progress in the small holographic display. It was a table top model that the Elemental's had borrowed for the armory. She saw that Nagatake was observing from the other side of the room. He did not look pleased, but she knew it was not her performance that dissatisfied him. It was her activity he objected to.

"You exposed yourself to hostile fire when you gave yourself running room," Batiste paused the recording. He pointed at the target that had fired at her from behind. "Never assume an area is cleared. The enemy can be anywhere."

Minh nodded and the recording continued to play. At another point, she was commended for taking the opportunity to reload an empty magazine. It had been during a lull in the action, but she maintained an alert watch while letting her hands deftly do their work.

xxXxxxXxx

For a change of routine, the Elementals would participate in a refresher course of scout training, with the exception of Keen. Minh would accompany them.

They were to parachute in by VSTOL. It was the same aircraft that Minh had used before in her sniping evaluation. Suited up with insulated jump coveralls, gloves, helmets, goggles, and air flasks with breathing masks. Underneath coveralls, Minh wore a newly issued field uniform and jump boots. The boots laced up her calf, providing ankle support for when she landed.

This flight was highly unorthodox. Minh had been given an hour of cursory instruction before this jump. She was not properly prepared for what she was about to do. The Elementals knew this was another attempt to disqualify the bondswoman and get rid of her. When initially informed of their plans, orders had come down from Star Colonel Quint DeVega that the team would deploy by air drop. Of course, the Elementals would not put it past him to use the opportunity as an interdiction exercise.

Minh did not know any better. She thought this was a normal parachute familiarization. The Elementals uncharacteristically chose not to correct her misconception. All Minh knew was that she would have an exciting new adventure.

Minh was too inexperienced to have an equipment bag dangling from her harness. Having no training at all, much less never having jumped before, it was not worth the risk of complicating her first landing. Instead, the team's equipment would be dropped as a separate load.

In a combat drop, they would have divided their gear amongst themselves. Normally, these men would have trained for as much realism as possible. This time, however, as this field exercise was a break in routine, they did not bother with that. It seemed to Minh that it was very much like a holiday excursion and she reacted accordingly. The positive change in her relationship with the men gave added impetus to her feelings.

Despite her excitement, the high jump concerned Minh. She had never done that before. She had commented on it, wondering if it would not have been better to practice at a lower altitude first. Anton replied that high altitude jumps were better. There would be more time to deal with any problems that might arise. After all, once they jumped, they were on their own. There would be no return to the plane.

Logically, Minh did not feel very secure about that. The manner in which he had spoken up, Anton was displaying a wicked sense of humor. Minh wished she could feel as amused as he was.

For this jump, the Elementals would be staggering their parachute deployments. Being of such light stature, Minh would reach the ground last, even with a standard-sized canopy slowing her descent. There were smaller parachutes, designed for small AeroSpace pilots, but for some reason it had been decided Minh would not use those. To make up for the longer drop time, Minh would pull her lanyard after two of the Elementals had done so.

Due to the lack of breathable air at this altitude, they were on oxygen. The palletised air tanks had been strapped to the cargo deck just for this flight. On a hand signal from the crew chief, the parachutists switched their breathing masks from the aircraft's air bottles to the flasks attached to their parachute harnesses. He walked to the ramp and stood to the side. After a moment, he removed his mask for a second to speak into his boom mike, then he waved for the passengers to join him at the ramp.

Minh stood in front. She would be the first one out of the plane. That way, there would be no risk of spreading the team all over the sky if she were to leave the plane late.

The Elementals checked each other again. Minh had watched them tug at straps and confirm that buckles were closed. Each time the men performed a check, a different Elemental inspected Minh. She looked carefully at him, then looked down at herself to compare and confirm her own gear.

It was cold. Minh tried to pay the bitterly low temperature little mind, but it was difficult. Cloudy wisps of exhaled carbon dioxide swirled from their masks. As they dissipated, minuscule flakes of frost fell like snow.

Minh had never seen snow before, much less anything like she was seeing now. Cupping her hand, she looked at the few flakes that landed on her glove.

The crew chief tapped her on the shoulder and pointed out of the plane. Minh nodded and stepped onto the ramp. Still protected by the fuselage, she did not feel the tug of the passing wind.

Even though the crew chief had his own air flask, he did not wear a parachute over his heavy jacket. Minh wondered what would happen if he were to fall out of the aircraft. It was too morbid for her to think about. She observed the ground pass below and away. It was so far down.

He should at least be wearing a harness, she decided.

The men watched the woman pause on the ramp. With her legs positioned farther than shoulder width for a stable stance, she just stood and stared toward the horizon. The crew chief looked at the Elementals, then back at Minh. Without waiting, he gripped a handhold and extended himself toward the woman, preparing to kick her out of the aircraft.

He did not get the chance.

Not knowing how close she had come to getting the boot, Minh leaped forward, her arms extended as if she were trying to fly.

Perhaps she was, Batiste thought as he followed her. He was not sure, but he thought he heard her voice, an exultant shout that was muffled by her air mask.

Batiste tried to stay as close to Minh as he dared. As he kept an eye on her, he watched the altimeter strapped to his wrist. They had departed the aircraft at five thousand meters. The free fall would take barely a minute, the skydivers reaching a speed of almost one hundred ninety five kilometers per hour.

Minh did not have an altimeter, much less a watch. She did not need any instruments. If she did not pull her rip cord, a microprocessor in her parachute would activate her main parachute at seven hundred meters. If that failed, her reserve 'chute would be released at three hundred meters.

Batiste critically watched Minh fall. She was face down in a spread eagle posture, her back arched rearward. This position was ideal to safely deploy the 'chutes.

At their height and speed, the ground did not appear to be closing as rapidly as it was. The view of the panorama displayed before them was breathtaking.

Keller dived past head first, his arms at his side to create an aerodynamic profile. He would be getting as far below them as possible before opening his parachute.

Minh saw him go past, then she looked at Batiste. He could not miss seeing the excited look in her eyes behind the goggles. If it had been the star colonel's intention to put fear into her, he had completely underestimated this woman.

Aerodynamic drag aside, skydivers of differing weights fall with equal speed. Only with parachutes deployed would their weight differential be noticeable.

Returning his attention to the altimeter, he watched the indicators wind down. Below them, Keller reached his altitude and his parachute blossomed into a squared wing-like shape. At once, he began to fly and steer.

At one thousand meters, Batiste signaled to Minh to pull her cord. He watched her to make sure she pulled the one to her main 'chute, not the red rip cord that activated her emergency reserve parachute.

The rip cord released the spring loaded pilot 'chute, which shot out quickly from the pack. Taking about four seconds, it was this device that dragged the main 'chute out of the deployment bag. Once out, it was filled by the air that rushed by the skydivers.

Unlike the Elementals, Minh was equipped with a round 'chute. The idea had been to reduce the variables in the drop. The men would be able to follow her down and predict where she would land. By pulling at her risers, Minh would be able to steer herself in a limited manner. That was why Keller had to reach the ground first, to establish the drop zone. Wherever he landed, Minh would follow him in. The other Elementals would try to predict where she was going and steer in that direction. Being smaller than them, Minh's parachute slowed her downward progress the most.

Batiste opened his parachute at nearly the same time as she did. As the two braked, he noticed an immediate increase in their distance from each other. Looking upward, he could see the remaining two Elementals swirl around above them. They had left the plane significantly later, so they fell farther away from the drop area. They had dropped with the equipment load. The microprocessor had been set to open at one thousand meters. By using the parasail qualities of the 'chutes, they were able to glide around the round cargo parachute as they descended. Compared to the men, the cargo 'chute was small because it supported a light load. At least relatively light compared to an Elemental. At their rate of fall, Batiste judged that they should reach the ground at the same time as Minh.

He used his parachute to bring himself to a soft landing by flaring it when he was almost down. Once firmly on his feet, he deftly deflated the canopy and let it collapse down breeze from himself.

Lacking the mobility that the squarish parachute had given Batiste, Minh came to ground over a hundred meters away.

Batiste watched with approval as the girl hit the ground with her legs together, her knees slightly bent. She rolled on the ground to avoid taking the shock of landing, the parachute pulling her as it followed the breeze. The canopy caved in on itself when it hit the ground. There was too little wind for the parachute to remain inflated.

Minh saw Batiste gathering up his parachute and copied what he was doing. With their arms full to overflowing with nylon cloth and cables, they trekked toward the cargo landing site.

Batiste was oddly pleased by the exultant expression on her face.

They shed their coveralls. Beneath them they wore two piece uniforms. Minh had not worn such clothing since she had been captured. It felt familiar and yet peculiar to her. Wendal handed out backpacks and Minh dug out a floppy bush hat which she placed on her head.

Each member of the team was identically attired. In addition to the way they were dressed, they were equipped with two canteens on web belts. There were some differences as well. Anton had a holstered pistol on his belt. Wendal had a pump action shotgun slung muzzle down from his pack.

Not all of the men were armed, which made Minh curious to the nature of the exercise they were participating in. It was supposed to be an autonomous field trip. No one else would be involved. What did they need with a pistol and a shotgun? In addition to the firearms, each Elemental had a sturdy knife. Batiste had tried to issue her a blade as well, but she had refused it. The thought of it made the pale scar on her neck itch. He did not press the matter with her.

The Elementals did not need firearms to defend against an unarmed bondswoman. No, those weapons served another purpose. The men carried themselves in a relaxed manner with no sense of urgency. This could be nothing more than a hiking vacation. They gave no indication that they regarded her as a threat at all.

The landing party stashed their parachuting gear in the cargo container, making it an impromptu cache. Someone else would be by later to collect it. They set out.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh watched as Keller crept through the tall field grass. Having shed their backpacks, the two of them were some distance from the other Elementals. She could hear the whisper of the thin dry vegetation as he stalked his prey.

The prey were large ungainly looking birds called field grouse. Keller suddenly leaped forward, chasing the main flock. Propelled by his powerful legs, he followed one particular bird, letting none of the others distract him. Minh understood the tactic, since Keller has previously explained it to her prior to this excursion. Other birds tried to entice him from the bird he was pursuing. If he allowed himself to be diverted, he would waste his energy and he would get none of them.

Minh thought it was unusual for wild animals to coordinate defensive action. She was aware that animals could unite offensively to hunt. That was first hand knowledge, gained the first night she arrived on planet. That was when she had been locked in the storage warehouse. Trapped, she would have been easy prey to the vermin stalking her, but for the timely intervention of Keen and the warehouse supervisor Taylor.

Keller caught up with the bird, his hand reaching forward to it. To Minh's surprise, he did not try to seize it. He paced the flying animal for a couple of seconds before letting it get away.

Keller walked back to Minh, displaying a confident grin. The bondswoman had a perplexed expression. She had been under the impression that he was trying to catch a bird.

Keller stated that it had been his intention to demonstrate the technique. He wanted Minh to engage in pursuit. It would be wasteful to take down two birds, so he let his go. Minh nodded in acknowledgment. She had seen that he could have followed through with the hunt if he had wanted to. It was his willingness to stop rather than ability on the part of the bird that permitted it to escape.

He further explained that Minh would be able to get closer to the birds than he did. Her small frame would disturb less grass. With that, he tilted his head toward the flock. It was settling down again after having gone almost a hundred meters away. Taking the overt hint, Minh proceeded in their direction.

Even though they had brought survival rations with them, that food was being saved for emergency use only. It was being left up to Minh to provide for their meal. She slipped out of her backpack and, more importantly, removed the canteens from herself. The sloshing water would make noise.

Slipping through the grass, she thought on how this interlude was turning into a lot of work. In trying to move carefully, her muscles felt strained. She placed each foot down lightly, then gradually let it take her full weight before easing forward. Lacking the massive build of an Elemental, she did not have to keep her posture crouched as low as Keller had.

Minh chose the biggest grouse, assuming it would be the slowest bird of the flock. Such a large bird would feed all of them. It was the most alert, watching where Keller still stood. Minh circled around to the other side, which gave the flock time to settle down. She hoped to get to the large bird without being seen.

She was getting close, carefully weaving through the grass. She could hear the clucking sounds coming from other grouse grouped to the side. They were busy grubbing for food, their beaks digging into the ground after worms. She took care to avoid getting too close to them.

She could see her chosen game bird. She froze to motionless as it locked eyes with her.

Did it see her?

Yes, it had. The bird sprang up with a squawking noise. The other birds scattered. Minh was supposed to be the first to move, but the prey had taken the initiative from her. She exploded forward, despite the disadvantage. She had gotten much closer than Keller had during his demonstration. She sprinted, trying to catch up to the bird before it was able to get it's speed up.

One of the other birds came up behind her and veered off sideways at a tantalizing distance. It was so very close, as if she could touch it.

Focusing on her prey, she would not permit herself to be decoyed.

The wings of the grouse battered the grass stalks as it propelled itself away. A ground bird, it could not actually fly. The body was too large with wings too small and weak to permit the bird to soar. Flapping wildly, it seemed almost as large as Minh as she closed in behind it.

She reached out. The bird twisted it's head back on it's neck, intending to turn it's beak against her hand. Used for rooting through the hard soil, it was flat but wickedly sharp. As Keller had instructed, before the bird could strike, Minh quickly gripped the tail forward of the trailing feathers and deftly snapped her arm down. The bird flopped down with a squawk, striking the ground and breaking it's neck as it rolled over onto it's back.

Standing over the quivering carcass, she waited as Keller trotted up to her. She accepted her gear back, taking a couple of swallows from a canteen as she did so.

"You took out the old buck," Keller commented.

"'Old buck'," Minh repeated.

"You did notice that he was with a harem of hens, quaff?"

She shook her head. It had not occurred to her to differentiate the genders of the birds. Thinking about it, she realized that she was unable to determine the genders of the grouse anyway.

"I just wanted to get the biggest one," she admitted.

"You did that," Keller acknowledged. "No matter. One of the younger bucks will take over the flock."

Taking his knife from the sheath on his belt, he handed it to her. In her fist it looked like a small sword. She stared at it dubiously.

"You must hurry and bleed the animal, then clean it."

Minh said nothing. The last time she had used a combat knife, she had used it on herself.

"You hunted it. You clean it."

The task was not as difficult as Minh would have imagined. Keller coached her every step of the way, telling her where to cut and what to pull out. Which apparently meant everything. When she was through, he dabbed a smear of red on each side of her face in a diagonal pattern from the bridge of her nose down across each cheek.

"You are a hunter now," he said solemnly. Without further word, he picked up the field dressed bird and the two returned to the other Elementals.

xxXxxxXxx

The team had set up camp near the lake. Minh was beginning to understand how large the lake really was. The base bordered one side of it, yet the group was nowhere near it. Nearly a hundred kilometers across, the lake was actually an inland sea.

Spitting the meat over the campfire, Anton performed the cooking. Wendal had set the fire while Minh and Keller gutted the bird. Batiste replenished the canteens and dispensed water treatment tablets. He left them by a clump of brush in shade cast by the setting sun to better permit the heat from the lake to dissipate.

Wendal set a second fire while Batiste filled a wide, shallow metal pan from the lake and gingerly brought it back.

_It looks like a wok_, Minh observed.

As steam rose from the water, Batiste tossed in some of the bird bones. He was making soup from the scraps of meat that still clung to them. He saw Minh watching him.

"Pick a feather from your kill, then go wash up," he instructed her.

Minh did not understand why she was supposed to choose a feather, but she saw the need to clean herself. That was self explanatory. Gutting the bird had been filthy business. Obediently, she accomplished her assigned tasks. She had debated to herself whether to wash her face or not. The drying facial markings made her skin itch, so she cleaned it off.

With the sun ready to disappear behind the horizon, the day was cooling off. The heated lake felt luxurious, but Minh hurried her bath. The longer she took, the colder the air would be afterwards. With her hair grown long, it would take too much time for her to clean. Then there was the problem of letting it dry in the cooling night air. She did not even bother to untie the ponytail. She coiled it around her neck to keep it out of the water while she washed.

After her clean up, Wendal put her to work braiding stalks of wild grass together. He had already constructed a meter long cord. As she copied his technique, Minh wondered if this was "make work", something to keep her busy until supper. When her grass rope had been constructed to half a meter in length, he stopped her and demonstrated how to make a snare. Her cord was too short to practice with, but at least it had served to instruct her in making it.

The limber stalks and the pattern of the braids made for a surprisingly durable rope. Thinking about it, she wondered what would stop an animal from chewing itself free from it. Keller seemed to read her mind.

"I prefer not to use snares," he commented. "It is not as fun as hunting hands-on."

The enticing smell of the cooking meat was proving to be increasingly distracting.

The five of them were seated around the flickering fire. In honor of her first success at hunting, Keller announced that Minh would get the first serving. In addition to the generous slices of meat on a camp plate, Batiste handed her a cup filled with soup.

Keller added some whittlings of dried brush to Minh's soup. She recalled seeing him chopping it up earlier while she was with Wendal. He had obviously remembered Minh's promise to the cook to give him Elemental field recipes. She tasted it, but could not discern any improvement. It occurred to Minh that it was a joke. With an unreadable expression on her face, she took it further. Helping herself, she added an obscene amount to her soup and then sprinkled some in Keller's. Batiste laughed, a surprisingly bold sound.

"You will get sick from all of that plant weed," Anton said to Minh.

"A little roughage is good for her," Keller replied, delighted at Minh's mischief. Reaching over, Batiste dumped out Minh's cup, then gave her fresh soup.

"She'll get her plumbing stopped up by eating all of that. If she gets disabled, you can be the one to carry her," Batiste said to Keller, but looked to the small woman. He could see that Minh was enjoying herself, despite the level demeanor she displayed. "I should have let you eat that, Girl. It would have served you right."

The look Minh gave him was clearly unrepentant.

For all of his gruffness, Batiste was pleased. Since she had returned from her unauthorized absence, she had proven herself. She had demonstrated her willingness to make right her wrong. Accepting her punishment, she performed her extra duties without complaint. Somehow she had found the strength to endure, like a warrior.

Minh marveled that she felt at ease with these Elementals, especially after all that had happened in their shared history. They had been very hard on her, abusively so. Yet, now she was willing to be friendly with them. Well, at least with the men. Salen had been brutal, equally so in fact. The difference, Minh decided, was that Salen had made it personal. She knew things about Minh and she had not hesitated to use that information against her. She knew how Minh guarded her honor. It was not merely a concept to her. Yet, the MechWarrior derided her for it.

Thinking of Salen, she was reminded of Vera. The two women were nothing alike. Vera had been a cowardly bully. Salen was anything but a coward. Both women freely expressed their personal contempt for Minh. From the first moment she met each woman face to face, hostility had been unmistakable. In addition, both of them demonstrated willingness to use innocent people against Minh. In her view, such duress was a despicable act. At least Vera had ceased to be an issue upon her demise.

Anton took what remained of the bird carcass and tossed it out into the water. It hit with a soft splash, breaking Minh from her unpleasant reverie.

"Let the snakes have it," he said.

Snakes. Minh remembered that the Elementals had teased her about snakes in the lake before. She had pretty much decided that it was some sort of joke. She resolved to remain on her guard, just in case these men attempted to play a practical joke on her.

Unlike at the base, Minh slept lightly in the field. She woke quickly, instantly alert when Wendal touched her blanket. She took a sip of cool water, then poured out a little into her palm and wiped it onto her face. They had replenished their drinking supply from the heated lake when they first set up camp, treating it with purification pills. Hours later, the water had cooled off. The pill had given the water a peculiar taste, but the liquid refreshed her. The dampness on her skin amplified the chilling bite of night air. Feeling more alert, she rose and accepted the shotgun from Wendal.

"Loaded, chamber empty, safety on," he whispered. Without further word, he lay in his bedroll.

The Elementals wore watches, enabling them to know the time. Minh did not have one, so the inability to gauge time seemed to make her own watch cycle drag on. With the time divided among the five of them, each person would only have to stay up two hours. That way everyone would have a decent night's sleep.

She was diligent on watch, not only watching but listening also. She carefully walked around the campsite, keeping her back towards the center of it when she stopped. Anything attacking her from behind would have to get through the Elementals first. Minh would see it before that happened.

The fire had died, so she had to rely on the starlight to see around her. At one point, she heard the snuffling sound of a four legged animal approach their camp. Rather than rack a shot gun shell into the chamber, which in itself would be very noisy, she opted for throwing a stone in the general direction of the noise. Startled by the stone, the animal dodged away. It paused, then moved in the direction of the water. Minh estimated that it was close to where the bird carcass had been cast into the lake earlier that evening. She was surprised to hear sudden splashing. It lasted less than a minute. Then there was silence.

Minh listened for a while, but the curious visitor did not return.

Periodically, Minh would pause by her bedroll to get a sip of water from one of her canteens. She remained alert, despite the way her eyes played tricks on her. She would see silent movement in the darkness in front of her. Averting her gaze until she was looking obliquely out of the corner of her eye, the shadowy shape would dissipate. Each time it was a trick of her vision, a false image of something that was not there in the night. She could not explain why her peripheral vision was not fooled.

She heard a deep breath from one of her companions. It was Anton, roused from his sleep by the silent alarm on his wristwatch. Minh knew her evening vigil was over when Anton left his blanket.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh had been warm enough at the beginning of the night when she had first gone to sleep. Having the next to last watch, she had cooled off. Returning to her bedroll, she had trouble regaining slumber. The last thought she remembered before falling asleep was that she was cold.

She could smell breakfast cooking. Curled on her side, she was aware of being snug and comfortable, warmth radiating against her spine. Something heavy rested on her ribs. She nestled back, luxuriating with pleasure.

This feeling of warmth jogged her memory. Once before, she had wakened like this. That time, she found herself in Keen's bed.

Where am I?

Her eyes suddenly opened. Before her, Anton and Wendal were crouching by the fire. The two Elementals were looking at her.

"Is she awake?" Wendal asked.

"Note the look of confusion in her eyes," Anton replied. "She is awake."

Looking down her torso, she saw a large arm cradling her close. As she made to move it off of her, the arm released her of it's own accord.

Minh quickly rolled over and scooted herself away. Clutching her blanket around herself, she stared at her sleeping companion. It was Keller. From his expression, he was more amused than offended by her reaction.

How were they able to move me without my knowing about it? she wondered, thinking she was the victim of a practical joke. After her watch, she had lain next to the flat rock. Her shoes were still on it. Looking back at the rock, she could see the marks in the dirt. It looked like she had crawled over to Keller on her own, but she did not remember doing it. Remembering her discomfort, it made sense. She had been so cold that she had sought out the nearest heat source.

Getting up, she went back to the rock. She checked her boots and found a rock in one. A large insect was in the other. She was sure the rock had been a test, but she did not know if the Elementals had placed the bug in as well. Carrying her boots, she headed for the lake.

"Do not go in before the sun touches the water," Batiste reminded her.

"Aff, snakes," Minh nodded. Keller chuckled. He was the one that had joked about the snakes to her before.

I have never seen a snake, she thought.

She looked along the shore and saw signs that a mammal had come to the water. The trail was completely unlike what she would assume a dragon would leave behind, which is how she had envisioned snakes. There was only one set of tracks leading in. The bird carcass was gone. She remembered the noises she heard the previous night. It did not occur to her that the animal had gone into the water but had not walked back out.

She undressed, then untied her ponytail. Having not washed her hair the night before, she relished the opportunity now. The warmth of the day would permit it to dry quite well.

Minh went into the warm water until it reached halfway up to her knees, then she squatted down. Half immersed, she washed herself. The glare of the rising sun reflected by the rippling water bothered her, so she turned herself sideways. After washing her hair, she twisted and squeezed it in her hands. In turning her head, she saw Anton on the beach standing with the shotgun. The two examined each other, then she noticed that his attention seemed to pass through her as he looked across the water. She returned to rinsing her hair as she realized that he was guarding her.

_No one can take a joke as far as an Elemental,_ she considered, having learned it from living with these men.

Meanwhile Keller was heating water for his shave. Wendal was preparing breakfast.

"She was an okay sleeping partner, once her teeth stopped chattering," he said conversationally.

"It is interesting that she went to you," Wendal commented. "You were not the closest one to her."

"She might not like Keen anymore."

"You gossip like techs," Batiste spoke up from behind them.

Keller chuckled, then nodded toward the lake.

"She is progressing well."

"She still has far to go," Batiste responded in an agreeable tone. "But do not let her hear your praise. She is still under probation."

The dark looks he saw agreed with his own assessment of the situation. Until recently, they had been treating the small woman in a harsh manner. Abusively harsh. The feeling that they had ganged up on her had added to the feeling of dishonor they experienced. Throughout her ordeal, she had not asked for mercy. That in itself had earned a measure of respect from these men.

What Keller did not say was how he felt about Minh's apparent trust in him. She was notorious about her sleeping habits, namely that she did not want a partner. Intimacy was extremely embarrassing to her. Then there was the way she had wakened. He remembered the suspicious caution in her eyes. He smiled at the unmistakable way she had tried to figure out how she had come to be in his one-armed embrace. Subconsciously she had turned to him for comfort, but her inhibited reaction revealed that she was dissatisfied with that realization.

"That woman would bathe three times a day if she could," Batiste continued, obviously trying to change the subject.

"At least! She definitely prizes cleanliness over modesty," Wendal commented. "For such a demure person, she has no problem baring herself in front of others."

"She does not fear our attention."

"If she were in the company of other men, it would be the others who would be in distress."

"She would wax them."

"Now who is gossiping like techs?" Keller asked pointedly.

"Smart aleck!" Batiste growled.

When Minh was finished with her bath, she did not retie her hair. She had not been able to wring it completely free of water, so she left it hanging loose over her shoulders to dry. Returning to the camp, she avoided looking at Keller. Observing her, the Elemental seemed to intuitively understand her uncomfortable feelings. She had placed herself in an intimately vulnerable position by sleeping at his side. As a result, she was afraid of him. Rather than permit the situation to persist, he made a decision.

"Minh," Keller waved the bondswoman over to him. Wary, the woman approached. She tried not to flinch as she looked up at his face. She waited for him to continue.

"Last night, you came to me, taking warmth from me," he stated. "You did not ask my permission nor pardon. I will now tell you what I want in return."

He could see the apprehension in her dark eyes, confirming his thoughts about her mental state. He also saw the pride she had for herself.

_This little one will fight if she has to._

"You will shave me," he showed her his straight razor.

"I have never done that," she confessed, surprise evident in her voice. "I might cut your throat."

"If that should happen, you will regret it," Keller said reasonably as he gave her the razor. Having fast reflexes, he was capable of snapping her neck before falling dead himself. Did she have the nerve to obey his bidding?

Minh's uncertainty faded as her hand firmly held the razor. She was resolved not to cause him harm from the shave. Watching her neutral expression, he realized what Keen had seen when he had first captured the woman. Despite the potential perceived threat to herself, she still strove to accomplish her task.

Keller lathered soap onto the rough whiskers his face, then let the young woman set to work. He was beginning to think she had the heart of a warrior. Was her extremely slender body up to the trial of carrying through with such ambition? It would be interesting to find out. He was shocked out of his musing by a sharp cutting pain on his chin.

"I have cut you. I will tend it."

"I can tend it. Just finish the shave."

"I am the one who caused it," she continued her task. She was clearly unhappy. She did not want to be beholden to him.

"Enemies do not cure the wounds they cause," Keller explained.

"I am not your enemy."

That was a very significant statement. He knew she did not lie, that she valued honesty. He was also aware of the precious value she placed on those she considered her friends.

"Finish the shave first," Keller said finally. Minh did as she was told.

Afterwards, the group had ate the leftover meat that Wendal had reheated. With Keen absent, the small bondswoman seemed to round out the Elemental point. It did not escape the notice of any of the men that Minh was carrying herself as a warrior would in their company.

xxXxxxXxx

The team reached their rendezvous point a day later. Minh had been given the task of leading them as part of a navigation exercise. Cresting a rise, they saw the section of road they sought before them.

"Wait."

Minh obediently stopped. Batiste knelt before her and braided the hair at her temple. Asking for the feather she had collected from the bird she had hunted, he placed it in the weave he had made.

"This is how a hunter demonstrates a first kill."

"You have no hair," Minh observed, wondering how he had shown off his first successful hunt. Batiste looked surprised by her comment.

"What makes you think I have no hair?"

Not knowing how to respond, she chose not to answer. Minh tried to imagine him with hair. She thought first of Keller's red hair, then Keen's dark crew cut. Both seemed ridiculous to her. She decided to forget the uncommon images that came to mind.

xxXxxxXxx

The group was walking down to the road when a truck rumbled up and stopped at a curve. Minh was easily able to identify Salen as the driver. She wondered why a star commander would be tasked with such a menial task. As they got closer, she could see that Salen was staring at her intently. Specifically, at the feather tied into her dangling braid.

"Anyone can kill game with a shotgun," Salen said in dismissal, eyeing the weapon that Minh had slung from her shoulder.

"You speak truth," Keller agreed. "She did not need it to bring meat to the fire."

Minh returned Salen's sharp look with a bland expression of her own.

"One of you guys can drive us back," she said, breaking eye contact with Minh. Batiste wasted no time making the assignment.

"Minh, you have it."

The bondswoman nodded. She slipped the shotgun from her shoulder and handed it to Wendal, the closest Elemental standing to her.

"Your ruck?" Wendal prompted when the woman had turned to the truck.

"I need it to sit forward so I can drive."

"You will need mine too," Wendal concurred.

"Adjust the seat forward," Salen snapped, impatient to get started.

Batiste will not be sitting next to me this time, Minh thought.

"Is this really a good idea?" Salen continued, watching the smaller woman reach into the cab of the truck and slide the bench seat forward.

"She is careful on the road. It is off road that you have to watch out for her."

"We should be okay. There are no trees here," Keller joined in.

"It was only one tree," Minh piped up, the outrage in her voice tinged with humor.

"It was the only tree!"

Minh looked at Salen and the two stared at each other. There was a look of determination in the smaller woman's face that belied her playful outburst. Seeing the challenge in Minh's expression, Salen turned her attention to Keller to see how he was reacting to the girl's impetuousness. She was surprised when the two of them burst out laughing, the Elemental's deep voice almost drowning out Minh's pure tone.

Minh turned back to preparing the driver's seat for her small frame. Salen had noted the ease in which Minh had comported herself in the company of these men. She was truly one of them.

Salen critically examined the bondwoman as she set the two rucks against the back of the seat, one atop the other. Her lean figure moved with assurance. She seemed too small for the task of driving but she did not appear helpless.

Climbing up into the cab, Minh pressed the starter as the warriors took their places on the back of the vehicle. Salen sat beside Minh. The engine turned over, but it did not want to start. Salen complained that the truck had been gutless when she had driven out to them. Minh hopped back out and stood on the front bumper of the truck. She pushed the hood up and peered into the engine compartment. Salen joined her, curious to see if the bondswoman could really remedy the situation.

Removing the cover from the air intake, she discovered that the air filter was clogged with thick dust. "Stand clear!" Barely a second had passed since her warning before she hit the filter against the fender, raising a dirty cloud. Standing too close and unprepared, Salen had been caught in the fringe of the cloud.

_She did that on purpose!_

"You would be as powerless if your lungs were as clogged as this," Minh's expression changed as she looked as Salen. "Oh! You would not know about that! Your machine has a fusion engine."

Salen blinked in surprise at the snide observation.

_What is with this girl?_ she wondered, not for the first time. Before Salen could think of a response to her impertinent manner, Minh asked for a replacement filter for the fuel line and a wrench. Apparently there should have been one in the dashboard compartment or a tool box, but it was not a spare available in neither place. By this time, the Elementals had joined the two women at the front of the truck.

"It is a good idea to change all of the filters at the same time," Minh explained to them as she placed the dusty air filter back in the intake. "Diesels get dirty really quickly."

"What would a farm girl know about that?" Salen demanded disparagingly.

Minh reached across to the fender for the cover for the air filter. It slipped free from her dust covered fingers and fell over the side. Wendal caught it before it his the ground and handed back up to her.

"Thank you, Wendal," Minh accepted it. It angered Salen that the bondswoman was being courteous to the men but not to her.

"Changing filters is routine farm work," Minh went on. "Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you."

_The girl is mocking me_, Salen thought, catching an amused look from Keller.

"Perhaps you should have had a truck when we captured you," Salen said bitingly.

"The diesel engine was still running after Keen pulled me from my tank."

_Really? I do not remember that._ Salen thought as she stepped away to join the other warriors as Minh reassembled the air intake system on the engine.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was through with the uncertainty and worry that marked her time among these people. She would put all of her energy into the task at hand. Her concentration would be centered on her successful integration into this warrior society. To do that, she needed to make one last cut from her past. An emotional string that tied her to her past self, hindering her self improvement.

The repressive culture that she had been forcibly taken from had continued to guide her actions. Even though the near fanatical reverence for combine authority was gone, there was still respect, but this time directed toward her clan superiors. Her sense of honor, her desire to protect her personal purity, was still strong. It was this aspect in particular that needed to be dealt with. More precisely, she needed to deal with the man that could cause her to discard her personal honor.

Keen. Minh had seen very little of the Elemental point commander as he was otherwise occupied, but the feelings she felt for him were a distraction she did not need. Correction, the feelings she thought she had felt at one time. Salen had informed her of his continued trysts with another woman. She had felt sick with betrayal, but that was then. His relationship was no longer her concern. She needed to address the matter with Keen, to make her own position concerning his affair known.

She now viewed Salen's wicked remarks about Keen's relationship with Suni as a kindness. Love was a weapon that was easily turned against the lover. That was a weakness that Minh could dare not permit herself to suffer again. Better that she be hurt for nothing now than when she had something to lose later. Any further betrayal could have dangerously lethal results.

Minh found her opportunity to speak with Keen outside of the dining facility. She was leaving, having just finished lunch. He was just arriving, which was typical of their meeting each other as of late.

"I need to speak with you."

As Minh explained her decision to Keen, he examined the small woman. Minh was cool in demeanor. No heat of emotion showed in the lightly tanned highlights of her ivory complexion.

"You have needs. I understand that you are accustomed to satisfying them."

_Needs? What needs?_ Keen wondered what she was talking about.

"I cannot meet those needs," Minh apparently was not going to express those specific needs, but her tone was blunt as she proceeded on the subject. Keen began to understand.

"I do not understand the clan concept of love. I cannot be the other woman in your life. I will not give myself to a man outside of marriage. You already know this of me. Of you, I know that you do not recognize marriage. I understand this. You have chosen another as your partner. I accept this. I am a one man woman. I would have been loyal to you, but on the condition that you remained loyal to me."

Keen realized that the woman speaking before him was not the same person she had been months ago. She had a self confidence that was not evident before. The last time she had discussed their personal relationship, she was uncertain. Her skin was flushed with embarrassment. Now she was serene, a placid personality of porcelain.

"My standards are selfish, but so is my love. Due to clan prohibition, warriors cannot wed. We cannot marry, even if I never become a warrior. That is why we can never touch, to be one with each other. I am afraid that you will ask more from me than I can freely give. Perhaps in time you would have become frustrated with me.

"I do not have the right to force my personal standards on another. Least of all you. Especially you.

"It would not have been fair to you. It would not have been fair to me.

"It was not my intent to lead you on. I will not promise you something I cannot deliver," Minh explained. "You are better off with Suni."

Bemused, Keen recognized that he had gotten what he wanted. Minh had developed the composed warrior soul he had glimpsed when he had chosen to capture her. So why was he not pleased? What did Suni have to do with anything? Why would Minh even think of her? He had been unaware of any rivalry between Suni and Minh. In fact, he had not associated with Suni for a long time. Just what was Minh talking about anyway?

Minh had obviously given her decision a great deal of thought, judging by the unwavering flow of her words. It was apparent that she believed his interest in her was confined to the physical senses. She did not truly understand him, if that was what she thought. What attracted him to her was what she had inside. She had spirit and determination. Her intelligence was indisputable in light of her ability to render unanticipated action. A facet of a successful warrior was unpredictability, to take a common straight forward situation and turn it to advantage by doing the unexpected.

Unfortunately this was one of those situations.

"I appreciate everything you have done for me. I will never forget your kindness and consideration," Minh said. She had her dignity. Keen would respect that. Taking his silence for dismissal, she bowed to him and turned away. As she walked from the dining facility, she encountered Salen.

"Salen," Minh said to the MechWarrior in way of greeting as the two women passed each other. The bondswoman gave her an impersonal nod. She seemed oddly detached from her emotions, looking toward Salen with neutral eyes. Salen was reminded of that first day when they met in the rain. Minh had been marched under guard by the armored Elementals. Coldly indifferent then, she appeared just as disinterested now.

Salen approached Keen as Minh walked away. The Elemental looked preoccupied with puzzlement.

"She has the impression that I have chosen Suni over her," Keen replied to Salen's questioning look.

"Oh, that," Salen thought out loud without thinking.

"'That'?"

Even before Salen looked up at him, she knew that he was angry. There was nothing in his manner that gave warning to his dangerous mood. In fact, it was the lack of expression that clued her to his mood. That and the intense look as he gave her his complete attention. She faced him bravely.

"I told her that you had turned to Suni for emotional support," she said.

"'Emotional support'?"

The concept was ludicrous. Elementals were strong mentally as well as physically. As his level voice repeated the term, Salen realized that she had inferred weakness to an Elemental. One did not make such accusations against a warrior, much less an Elemental, and end the conversation without a fight.

_I know better than that_, she thought. Looking up at his face, she corrected herself. _Apparently I do not_.

"I wanted to get back at her for what she did," Salen explained. Even in her own ears her voice sounded as hollow as her excuse. "She had put us through a lot of trouble when she left. I wanted to hurt her."

"I would say your attempt was a outstanding success," Keen commented in a glacially dry voice. Salen cringed inwardly. She knew he was extremely angry. She wished he would hurry and do something. If only he would strike and get it over with. He examined her as if he were contemplating what he would do to her first. She imagined that he was undecided whether to break her arms or her legs. Twisting her head off of her neck would be too quick. That was probably the last thing he would do, Salen believed. Finally, Keen spoke.

"If you do anything like this again," Keen paused, drawing out the moment. "I do not care how impenetrable your BattleMech is. I will peel you out of it and rend you limb from limb with my bare hands."

Keen did not raise his voice. His tone conveyed the cold anger through his words. Although she held superior rank, it was as if their roles were reversed. She marveled at his self control, knowing that if she had been as angry, she would have long since gone berserk.

"Aff, Keen," she acknowledged respectfully.

The Elemental wasted no more time on her. Without further word, he went into the building.

Minh and Keen were two cold personalities. What had she been thinking? Those two belonged together.

"It was not like she would have let you lay a hand on her anyway," Salen muttered to herself. Of course, that was not the point and Salen knew it. The two had agreed to behave with specific conduct. Minh had never been fully relaxed around Keen. As busy as he was, there had never been enough time for the two of them to become accustomed to each other, to get to know each other. For her part, Minh did not pine away in his absence. She had made other contacts and had her own activities to occupy her time. Perhaps that was the source of her new found strength, the knowledge that she had other options.

Coincidentally, that train of thought was remarkably similar to that which was running through Keen's mind.

As Minh's bond holder, Keen had not spent as much time training her as he felt he should have. However, their first night back on Strana Mechty had shaken him more than he cared to admit. The two of them had expressed their affection for each other. The intensity of the emotion had surprised him. His socially sterile clan warrior background had not prepared him for the psychological onslaught of a simple relationship. Seeing the tortured terror in her eyes, a terror not of him but of her own feelings, had caused him to withdraw from her in confusion. An Elemental's strength did not only lie in his muscles, but in his purpose. It was his resolve that made him strong and kept him true to the Way of the Clan. That encounter had shaken his determination in a way he could not have foreseen. He had done nothing more than gently touch her face with the knuckle of one finger, yet the two of them acted as if each had taken a serious punch to the kidney. Wary, Keen subconsciously kept his distance in the hope that the uncomfortable feeling of bewilderment would go away. Looking back on his lack of action now, he realized he should have said something to her. At the very least he could have spent more time with her. Apparently she had needed something from him. He could see that the day she had returned from her escape. Her expression was so revealing, he could not help but read her supplication. He remembered his thoughts, how he did not know how to react to that. Taciturn warriors did not look that way to each other. Never. Deep down he wanted to reassure her, to let her know that he cared about her. He did not know why he felt that way, it was just that he did. Knowing that the star colonel wanted to destroy her, that was what gave him the strength to resist showing her his true feelings. If he had relented and given in to these unaccustomed inner feelings, the star colonel would have certainly taken it as defiance of his directive and Minh would have been executed.

In the end, he had turned away from her without speaking.

His distance from her had only served to feed her doubts and give credibility to Salen's vengeful tale of infidelity. Thinking about that, he did not understand the MechWarrior's reaction. The association between the two women must have been a caring friendship judging by her claim of betrayal. Warriors obsessing about each other was inconceivable. Warriors were self sufficient, relying on themselves. Each man and woman was prepared to stand alone in the face of annihilation itself. Glorying in their demonstration of skill, there was no room for tender feelings of friendship. At least, he had believed that before his strange relationship with Minh.

Fidelity in having only one partner was a foreign concept to the warrior caste. Keen had chosen to try it for the purpose of learning more about how Minh thought. Having made that decision, he realized that he should have gone further. Unfortunately, he had not known how to proceed. His research in the clan's computer database had failed to uncover what he wanted to know. More than that, what little bit he did find had only raised more questions. It was incomplete, as if much of it had been removed.

As a result, he was unsure. A warrior could not afford to be uncertain. A warrior who was unsteady was vulnerable. A warrior who was vulnerable was not effective. An ineffective warrior was not a warrior at all.

Perhaps that was why the information he had sought was not there. Such knowledge led to weakness, thus it had been omitted to preserve the clan way. By the same token, had the star colonel recognized Minh to be a subversive threat? Unremarkable in stature, it was what was underneath in her mind and manner that made her special. What had attracted his attention to her that first day was her single minded devotion to her duty. It was that devotion that he had intended to redirect for the benefit of the clan. What disturbed him was that he felt he was the one being redirected instead.

As a warrior, Keen had never thought of himself as weak. By his association with Minh, in explicit defiance of the star colonel, was he trying to prove his strength or was he undermining his own effectiveness?

Unseen, one of the cooks stood around the corner of the building. He had been on his way to the infirmary with Katya's meal when he overheard Minh speaking to the Elemental. When Minh had finished, he waited for Keen to go into the dining hall before stepping out into the open. He was afraid he would get into trouble if Keen knew that someone had been listening. He had a bit of a wait when Salen arrived. Keen's promise of violence against her was more than enough to convince him that he was right to remain in concealment from the angry Elemental.

"She dumped him," he explained to the brown haired woman sitting at the desk, once he had gotten away from the dining hall.

Katya had advanced from bed rest to light duty. The doctors had given her the monotonous tasks that they did not care to clutter their own time with. When the cook arrived with her meal, she had been updating immunization information for medical records in the database.

"I've never heard anyone talk to an Elemental like that," he continued, still marveling at the notion. "She's tough."

_Too tough_, Katya thought critically. She had always been concerned about the young woman. Despite her serious manner, there was a childlike quality to her earnestness. A simple honesty in how she regarded herself and others. Careful in her choice of friends, it was not like the girl to discard one of them.

xxXxxxXxx

Keen had participated in four of the five scheduled Trials of Bloodright in his quest for his Bloodname. The day had arrived for his competition against the remaining finalist. It was Callista. Minh had been fascinated the first time she had seen the female Elemental. The warrior woman had a clean shaven scalp, save for a platinum blonde braid in back. In Minh's experience, it was an uncommon color for hair.

Minh was not allowed to watch the broadcast of the battle in the meeting hall. Months before, she had been permitted to view Salen's Trial of Position. Batiste had brought her that time. No one had considered that a non-warrior like herself would have been in attendance and few warriors would contest an Elemental, after all. This time, Star Colonel Quint DeVega had specifically denied her attendance at the meeting hall to see Keen's duel. The Elementals assumed that it was probably due to her recent successes in the field.

Being singled out did not bother her. When the team left the armory to witness Keen's trial, she waited several for minutes before departing for her own destination. She had not been ordered to remain with Nagatake and she had kept her plan to herself. She did not want to take a chance that they would forbid her. Knowing how the trial process worked, she could likely as not predict where the battle would be joined. Both participants had a say in how their trial would be decided. One warrior would choose the venue. The other could pick how the opponents would be equipped. If Keen had his way, she knew where the duel would take place. It was the only place she knew to go. She went to the lake.

xxXxxxXxx

At the preliminary ceremony, Callista was declared the hunter. She chose augmentation, the use of their Elemental power armor. Being the prey, Keen chose to have their combat beneath the surface of the lake. Callista was initially surprised, then she smiled.

The two Elementals took separate transportation to the lake. It had been agreed that they would meet at the coordinates that Keen provided. It was a big lake, after all. As the prey, Keen arrived first, giving him the opportunity to get into position. Don was with him, driving the truck with his suit of armor in back. There were many onlookers on hand. They had followed in the hopes of seeing some portion of the battle. He did not notice Minh on the far side of the crowd. She had been initially shielded by a tree upon his arrival, but approached to watch his preparation as more people gathered. Once he was suited up, Don drove off in the truck.

On the lake bottom, Keen dismounted his SRM launcher and positioned it to look as if he were hiding in an underwater ravine. He then moved away to conceal himself. He did not have to wait for more than a half hour or so before he detected Callista via a loud noise. He stayed in place, listening. There was no other sound. Obviously, it was to be a waiting game between the two of them. He briefly considered making a noise of his own to lure Callista to him. If she had any idea where he was hidden, that tactic would only draw attention to him at no risk to her. Slowly, he turned in place to observe his surroundings, but he was alone. Carefully, he made his way in the direction he thought the noise had come from.

Very soon he entered cloudy water, thick with suspended silt. He was in the right area, that much was certain. He slowly penetrated the underwater fog, knowing that his opponent would be as blind as he was. His metal proximity alarm flashed in the corner of his eye on the display. He had deactivated all of his audible signals. Sound traveled very easily in a liquid medium. He was not going to let his own suit betray his location to Callista. At the base of a mud slide he found the missile launcher from Callista's suit sticking out. Had she been buried by the underwater avalanche? It would appear so.

This was much too easy.

His metal detector was not as sensitive as a BattleMech's. A BattleMech had more room for the supporting equipment, making it more efficient than the one equipped in the smaller power suit. It was almost useless for detecting Elemental armor, much like a 'Mech's. Only at extremely close range would the detector register another Elemental. On land that distance was well within visual range. Underwater, meter and vision were very similar in detection ranges. In addition, his metal detector only warned him the proximity of that material. It could not provide him with the location or number of sources. As long as he remained in close proximity to Callista's discarded missile launcher, his metal detector was useless. It occurred to him that his opponent was as crafty as he was, perhaps even more so. They had both devised a plan of using their missile packs as impromptu electronic counter measures. Keen looked around carefully, frowning. Callista had thought this up at the spur of the moment whereas he had spent the better part of a day to plan the same thing.

The muddy cloud was beginning to dissipate as the sluggish current pulled it away. Keen needed to get away from the missile launcher. Once he was clear of the interference from it, he would be able to detect his opponent's approach.

It was tempting to remain in the ravine and use the confines for concealment. That would be too dangerous. An avalanche trap could pin him down. Instead, he climbed up and followed the ridge line. Once he was away from the missile pack, he would stop and wait. The mud clung to the cloven feet of his suit as he moved, but it hardly slowed his progress. The metal indicator flickered and died. Keen nodded as he turned to find a place to get out of sight. Then the indicator flickered back on, informing him that he was still too close to the missile launcher.

Again he moved farther away, but the metal detector remained active. It was not that he was still within the fringe of detection for the missile pack, but that his opponent was closing in! The cloud of silt was clearing, permitting the sunlight to filter down from the surface. He had but a moment to decide which direction to turn. If Callista were really using metallic signature to mask her own location, she would not have moved too far from the missile pack. Logically, he should not turn away from the pack. With no more time to think, instinct took over. Keen faced back to the direction he had come, seeing Callista emerge like a sea creature from concealment. She had been hidden among the plant life beyond the pack and had watched him approach. Waiting for an opportunity to attack, she had mistimed her egress from the plants, allowing him to leave the magnetic field of her pack as she made her move. The two were quickly in hand to hand range before she was ready to attack. She pointed her laser at him, trying to shoot him. He parried it away, gripping it in his claw and crushing the lens system. Combat in suits this close was going to be less skill and ability and more endurance and fortune. He pressed his laser against the side of her suit, but she managed to knock it away before he could shoot her.

Keen maintained his crushing grip on the laser arm, seeking to breach Callista's suit by wrenching the arm free. At the same time, Callista destroyed the laser on his own arm to protect herself from it, then clawed at his carapace with the same goal of piercing his armor. She tried to bludgeon the V-shaped visor, the weakest point of the suit, but Keen parried the claw with his laser-turned-club. The two were evenly matched. He saw bubbles begin to stream from the shoulder joint of her arm, then stop. It was Har-Jel, a black sealant that controlled the damage by filling and quickly hardening in place. Callista's claw had found purchase on his carapace and she dug in. Water shot into Keen's suit, soaking his chest, then stopped as Har-Jel sealed the breach. Keen kicked back with a raised knee, knocking his opponent off balance long enough for him to release her laser arm and grip her claw arm instead. He meant to seize the structurally weak elbow joint, but latched onto the forearm. Such a grip did not give him the leverage to control her. Callista took advantage of his exposed flank, punching him in his armored ribs with her laser. The two proceeded to inflict damage each other. In this battle of attrition, it was only a matter of time before the suits eventually died.

Keen's suit failed first, the lights on his status display fading to darkness. Callista's suit was too badly damaged to take immediate advantage of his vulnerability as he tripped the quick release and freed himself. The battle had so far been a test of mechanically assisted skill and endurance, but now the next phase would begin. Without the benefit of the suits, who would prove the victor?

Callista knew she had to catch him before he reached the surface. Since she had been the last to free herself, the air in her lungs was fresher than his. Freeing herself from her suit, she quickly kicked against it in pursuit. As she had hoped, she caught up with Keen while still beneath the water. The two grappled as they rose to the surface. They ascended, seeking to be first to get air while denying the other that opportunity. They both exploded to the surface, unable to prevent the other from breathing. Splashing and striking at each other, neither Elemental could get leverage on the other in the deep water. The fight moved to shallow water and the two found footing on the muddy bottom. As if the firm footing had given them a second wind, they proceeded to launch into a series of kicks and strikes. Ducking and whirling, they attacked and dodged. After several moves, Keen seemed to gain the advantage. Gripping Callista's arm, he managed to pull her over his shoulder. Callista fell as Keen had intended, but she managed to trip and pull him under with her. It was a rapid reversal of their positions. Holding his head face down under her armpit, she lifted her head to catch her breath. Keen pushed at the bottom with one arm as he punched at her with the other. Callista neutralized his attack by holding his striking arm at the elbow, twisting it back until it was almost vertical from his shoulder. To counter his pushing arm, she kept shifting the two of them, using the force of his pushing to turn them instead. She managed to hold him down until he stopped moving. She waited several moments, then released him and picked herself up. It was then she saw Keen's puny bondswoman standing at the forefront of the knots of people on the shore.

After Minh had watched Keen's entry into the water, she had remained with the watching crowd. Several minutes later, Callista arrived and she went into the water from an adjoining cove. The gathered watchers muttered among themselves, displeased that there was no immediate activity to be seen. Bored, some of them wandered away, but several remained to see which one would eventually emerge from beneath the lake.

Minh had been sitting to the side of the clusters of people when someone pointed. A muddy discoloration appeared in the water. Something catastrophic seemed to have happened down there. Although she listened carefully, no noise from down below could be heard. If there was any sound at all, the water and the murmuring crowd swallowed it up. After the mud color had faded away, she was concerned to observe bubbles of air disturb the surface of the water. It was not a steady stream, but random as if each were a breath of air. She was unaware of regaining her feet, of approaching the shoreline. A sudden flurry of bubbles burst up, followed by a second one. What did it mean? After several moments, flailing Elementals appeared. Neither seemed to be able to gain advantage on the other. Then the two combatants reached shallow water, neither giving the other respite. Rainbows of light streamed through the flying spray as the two gargantuans battled. Proceeding closer to shore, mud flew as they brought their feet into action. Minh analyzed their techniques with a critical eye and tried to estimate what she should have done had she been involved in the bout. She was not concerned for Keen. It was unthinkable that he would fail. He had proven himself time and again in battle and in training. She thought the fight was over in Keen's favor when Callista was thrown down. Instead, she managed to pull her opponent over with her. Minh could not believe that Keen had been subdued so suddenly.

The two women faced each other now. Unaware of the breach of etiquette in interfering with a Bloodname match, Minh stepped forward. The aggression from the bout countered the exhaustion Callista felt. Callista was further energized by the flash of anger at the intrusion.

"You have won," Minh declared, looking at Keen's still form in the water. Callista realized the unspoken menace. The smaller woman wanted Keen's life spared, but she was not begging for it. Her loose limbed stance revealed her willingness to attack the Elemental to advance her cause. It was not out of fear of Minh that she considered the issue. The bondswoman was not a real threat to her. The girl was not even looking at her, but at the vanquished opponent. The Elemental would win. Proof of her prowess lay in the water at her feet. Callista imagined the look in the man's eyes when he realized that the prize he had sought had slipped through his fingers. Yes, that would be a satisfying acknowledgment of her supremacy over him. She would permit the little girl her minor victory, but only so she could add it to her own glory. A living reminder of her mastery. With a weariness she dared not show, she dragged Keen toward the shore and dropped him, half submerged in the water. Lying on his side, he coughed, still unconscious.

"Thank you," Minh said simply, kneeling in the water and placing Keen's head on her thighs. Her support of him prevented him from drowning. It was the best she could do since she lacked the size to pull him ashore.

Callista looked at them, but the smaller woman did not look up, keeping her attention on Keen as she wiped some of the bottom mud from his cheek. In victory, Callista left them. With the fight ended, the other watchers departed, their voices fading away as they recounted what they had seen.

Minh had found the battle to be morally abhorrent. The way she had understood it, a brother and sister had just fought each other over a name. One or both of them could have been killed. The concept was not new to her. She recalled the history from her own culture. Royalty in ancient times assassinated members of their own family for personal gain or allegedly noble causes. She did not understand it. There was no way she could harm her own family. It was not right.

She was thankful that her genetic material was not acceptable to the warrior breeding program. The very thought of her possible offspring battling each other to the death was sickening. It would be as if she fought her brother Huy for their family name. Not having a family name anymore was not so bothersome to her now. The likelihood of her being able to bear children was extremely remote anyway. In view of what she had just witnessed, not having a family of her own was an acceptable price to pay for her own conscience.

Keen roused with a body wracking cough. Turning his head, he looked up from her lap.

"You," he said.

"Me," Minh responded tonelessly. She looked up from his face and peered across the water. She did not want him to misunderstand her presence with him. For some reason, she was speechless. She sought to find the words to express herself.

Keen reached up, water streaming from his hand. Minh watched out of the corner of her eye. She did not move. He touched her cheek, leaving a streak of water to drip, much like a tear. Her face flushed slightly as she twitched her head away, the only visible sign of her rapidly beating heart.

"Even though we do not love each other, I still care about you. I am your comrade," she explained carefully. "It may not be the clan way, but it is my way."

Keen was moved by her display of compatriot loyalty. If that was all she cared to give to him, then he would not ask for more. He still felt an emotional attraction for her. He sensed that Minh shared those feelings as well, but from the way she was acting it would seem she was in denial. With an involuntary groan, he pushed himself up. Pulling Minh to her feet with him, he held her shoulder to steady himself as they left the water. Minh was thankful that he did not put his weight on her. Despite the fact that she was in the best physical condition she had ever been in, she would still have been unable to support him.

Keen released Minh once he reached the grassy part of the bank and sat on the ground. Dressed in the tight fitting shorts Elementals normally wore in their power armor, he would dry quickly. Minh's coveralls, on the other hand, had soaked up a lot of water. It was obvious she was uncomfortable being soaking wet.

"If you wish, you can lay out your clothes on the grass here to dry out and go swimming," Keen suggested.

"I did not bring a suit," she said. "I do not have sun block."

"You do not need a suit here," Keen replied. "It will not take long for your clothes to dry. You will not burn if you do not stay in the water too long." He had heard of Minh's fondness for swimming. He understood that it was not easy to get her to leave the water.

"Indulge yourself," he gestured to the water. "I will dry here." He would wait for her, having had his fill of swimming that day.

Minh looked at him in appraisal. It would be a measure of trust to do as he had just bid of her. She had just demonstrated that he could trust her with his life. She would give him the opportunity to reciprocate that trust. Slipping out of her clothing, she spread them out on the grass.

As Minh swam in the lake, Keen considered what she had told him. He did not entirely believe her explanation. There was no doubt that she would stand up for her friends. He had seen that when she fought the tech when the women were having those problems with the men in the barracks. The clue to her true feelings was when she looked away from him to tell him how she felt. That was a dead giveaway. She could not meet his eyes when she denied having close feelings for him. Perhaps she did not know her own feelings. It would take time. It had taken time for her to accept the clan way. All he needed was patience. He did not want to manipulate her or force her to accept his feelings for her. She would resent that and end up hating him instead. In time she would understand herself and hopefully accept him as more than a friend. The time would also permit him to adjust to these unfamiliar emotions as well.

As he lay back to rest, he was careful not to let her see his smile. He did not know what she would infer from it. He did not want her to think poorly of him. She was naked in the water and he did not wish her to feel self-conscious. What she thought was important to him. That was strange, because he had never before cared for the thinking of others. It had always been what he thought that mattered.

Keen had never failed any task he had set himself to. In his mind, he had never even considered any outcome but success. He had failed in his quest for a bloodname. His bloodname. Although bitterness welled up in his chest, the crushing feeling of defeat was not unendurable. He felt the desire to pound his fist into something unyielding and force that thing to give in to his will, but lacked the ferocity to make an impressive showing.

Yet, it was not the end of the world. Minh had been there to show her support. She stood by him, not because of his propensity for winning, but out of personal loyalty. That spoke volumes about her character. She was a friend, no matter what the outcome. In clan society, warriors gave their support to successful leaders. Leaders that failed in battle did not deserve to lead and were not worthy of followers.

There was no room for anything else, but Keen was not ready to give up and be discarded like other warriors that had outlived their usefulness.

While Minh swam, Don returned with the truck as well as other techs to recover his suit. A medic also was on hand to check on Keen. After a fairly quick examination, Keen took a blanket from the medic and went to the shoreline.

Minh had noticed the techs unloading diving equipment, rubber boats and other floatation devices. When she saw Keen motion for her to come back ashore, she obeyed his summons. Reaching shallow water, she stood on the muddy bottom and walked the rest of the way. The techs paused in their activity to watch her. She ignored them with aplomb. Reaching Keen, she permitted him to drape the blanket over her shoulders. Having become chilled in the slight breeze, she pulled the coarse cloth around herself gratefully. Keen retrieved his jumpsuit from the truck and pulled it on. Minh poked at her clothes and decided to wait a little longer for them to dry.

In the meantime, two of the techs had dived and recovered the suit a piece at a time. Attached directly to a pair of flotation balloons, each part was towed to the beach and dragged ashore. Morosely, Don examined the wreckage. The missile launcher was intact and the legs were relatively untouched. The arms however were mangled and the carapace was severely holed. Black Har-Jel covered the damage in misshapen blotches.

"I can't fix this!" he said, shaken.

Minh could not help but agree with his assessment. The damaged components had an unusual appearance. She had never seen the hardened black tar before that extruded from the jagged tears in the armor. An automatic temporary repair mechanism, she surmised.

Oddly, it was not the ravaged armor that held Minh's attention, but the diving gear the techs had used to recover it. She approached the breathing equipment and looked at it. The techs in turn were as fascinated by her blanket wrapped form as she was by their gear. Keen noticed that the techs were paying more attention to her than to what they were supposed to be doing.

"Minh, get dressed," he rumbled softly. "You are distracting the techs."

"Ah?" Minh looked up and caught sight of the techs staring at her. "Oh!"

Guiltily, the men lowered their heads and set back to work.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh accompanied Batiste to Salen's star that afternoon. Salen had asked the bronze Elemental to demonstrate and practice hand to hand combat with her star. Batiste wanted Minh to help him demonstrate combat between disparate sized opponents.

One of the MechWarriors in the star was Rick. He was especially interested in seeing Minh in combat with an Elemental. He had crossed paths with the bondswoman before. After all these months, he still had difficulty believing that such a small woman had been able to incapacitate highly trained MechWarriors such as himself and the others on his team. He not only wanted to see her fight, he wanted to see her lose.

Batiste waved Minh to attack.

"No."

The assembled warriors looked on in amazement at the small bondswoman who dared to refuse an Elemental.

Minh was not stupid. Attacking Batiste head on was suicidal. She had learned that the last time she had faced this man before these very same MechWarriors. Her common sense replaced by rage, she had foolishly believed herself equal to the contest. The result was that he had knocked her out cold.

"I am rather fearsome," she said, drawing her diminutive self up in a display of pride. She gestured for him to attack her instead, but Batiste just stood still. He knew that Minh was quick and deft, much better as a defensive opponent than in the offensive.

Facing each other, the two declined to be the first to attack. One of the MechWarriors commented that Batiste was afraid of Minh. Minh rolled her eyes at the obvious jeer, but the Elemental took it seriously. No criticism by another warrior, no matter how slight, could be ignored. The set of his expression quelled any further critical commentary.

At the same time, Minh's mind was racing. She had to attack Batiste to get him to respond, but in such a way that did not leave her open to his counterattack. She had to use his response to gain leverage. It could work, but only if he had momentum. As long as he just stood there, she lacked the physical strength to budge him. She was too light to throw her weight against him. Any attack by her would leave her defenseless. She considered his reaction to the MechWarrior's heckle against his courage. She could do the same thing, but the question was, would it work?

"If you refuse to fight me," Minh said reasonably. "I claim victory."

Batiste could not let that statement go unchallenged. He took a swipe at Minh, not so much to make contact, but to get her moving. Just standing around would only cause a revival of mockery from the observing warriors. He remained in one spot, deliberately not overextending himself. He would let the girl come to him and let her make the mistakes. Unlike in training, he would not make it easy for her to take him down. That was practice then. This session was for demonstration, for showing what they could really do in the combat environment.

At the moment, it would not seem to be much. The two had yet to land a blow on the other. As he was determined not to leave his spot of ground, Minh was equally determined to get him unbalanced. Darting in, she used her speed and small size to get close and force him to turn and protect his flanks. He turned deftly on one foot, remaining in position while continuing to face her. She was not even trying to hit him. That was what he was waiting for. Had she attempted to do so, that would have been his opportunity to seize hold of the bondswoman.

"Are you going to fight or play around him?" the derisive comment about her combat style came from a MechWarrior that Minh was not familiar with. She turned her back on Batiste to respond. The Elemental could not believe she had made a foolish blunder like that.

"Batiste is much too big and powerful for me to fight head on," she said in a distracted manner. Batiste took advantage of the opening, but Minh had expected him. It had been a ploy. Knowing that the Elemental would be quick to seize on any opportunity and having witnessed his quick reflexes, she was positive she knew what he would do. Without looking at him, she seized his arm as he tried to grapple her. Using her body as a fulcrum, she stepped back and pivoted the large man over her.

There were counter moves to what Minh was doing and Batiste employed one of them, managing to hold her as he flipped over onto his back. Minh was pulled forward, not entirely surprised by his tactic. Working her wrist against his fingers, which was the weakest part of the hand, she slipped free as she rolled head over heels to regain her feet.

Turning to face Batiste, she noticed Rick's expression in the whirl of faces surrounding them. His disappointment was very plain.

"You are holding back!" someone cried out in disbelief and the other MechWarriors added their voices.

"Neg!" Batiste was visibly angered by the accusation. "I am not-." At that moment, the edge of his hand connected with Minh's shoulder. It had been a happy accident, normally called a "lucky hit" and completely unexpected by either of them. He had not been intending to strike at that moment, after all. Minh fell awkwardly, hitting the ground harder than she would have preferred.

"Erk!" she choked out as she attempted to pick herself back up and failed.

_That was eloquent_, she thought sarcastically to herself. Despite her stunned outer appearance, her mind remained functionally rational. Badly jarred by the impact with the ground, her arms and legs refused to respond.

The spectators fell silent. Immediately, Rick stepped forward and stood over Minh's prone form. She turned her head, looking up at him with a dull expression. Rick had a grin on his face. He knelt down on one knee before her with one arm resting on his elevated thigh.

"I am glad that is not me down there," he said.

Minh made a snorting sound as she trued to gather herself together.

"Are you okay? Let me help you up," Rick offered his hand to her, surprising himself by his offer.

Minh looked at him for a moment. He had good reason to be pleased by her humiliation in personal combat. He had not made it a secret that he wanted to teach her a lesson for attacking him when they first met. It was obvious that he had been appeased by the demonstration. His hand to her was an offer of peace. She nodded slowly.

"I am okay," she accepted his assistance in getting up, thus surprising Rick for a second time. He had really expected her to refuse and pick herself up on her own. He pulled her up quickly. Unsteady, she clutched at his arm to remain standing.

"I am not usually so clumsy," she said apologetically.

"You do it well," Rick could tell by the expression on her face that she did not know if she had been insulted or complimented. "Are you sure you are all right?"

"I think so, but I think I should sit down." She noticed that Batiste was examining her carefully.

"It looks like you underestimated your opponent," Rick commented dryly, changing the subject. _A little payback,_ he decided to himself, remembering her helpful critique when Salen had thrown him during a previous challenge. He had wanted to fight Minh at that time, but Salen had stood up for her in her stead.

"It is not the first time," she replied, glancing at him with a hint of meaning.

_That sounds like an apology,_ Rick thought. _If not, at least a peace offering._

"All right, you guys," Salen took charge of her star. "Pair off! I want to see you people knocking each other on your butts!" She looked at Minh to ensure that the small woman was not hurt. Rick quickly went onto the training ground, eager to repeat the countermoves he had seen.

"That was dumb," Minh admitted to Batiste. "I want to try that again. I think I can do better."

"You have done better," Batiste replied. "That is enough for today. Go see Doc. Let him certify that you are okay."

"Aff, Batiste," Minh sounded disappointed. She did not want to leave like this. She got up again, this time standing firmly. As she walked away, he smiled at her back.

"Star Commander, your turn," Rick challenged as he stood over his previous opponent.

"You certainly sound overconfident," Salen stated. "Perhaps I should send in Batiste to test your mettle."

"Do I look that stupid?"

xxXxxxXxx

Now that Keen was not so busy with the press of training, he was around his Elemental point more. Previously Minh would have been pleased, but by this time she was coldly indifferent. He was no more than just another warrior in her eyes. Surprisingly, he still assigned Don to the mysterious project that the tech was forbidden to comment on. Minh had previously thought that it had to do with modifying his power armor so he could use it in the contest for his Bloodname. Now that the trial had concluded, she did not know what to think. The subject was just as secret now as it was before Keen's defeat.

The mornings following her humorously regarded trounce by Batiste, Keen joined his point for their workout before breakfast. He was favorably impressed by her progress and endurance. From his previous observations and the reports Batiste gave him, he was not surprised. That was not to say that she was the equal to an Elemental. She lacked the mass and energy reserves to keep up with these men for any extended time. Each day, one of the men would run with her at her pace, giving the others an opportunity for a full workout. It was uncharacteristic that they would provide the weaker woman such companionship, given their ingrained compulsion to succeed.

Batiste was like a teacher to her, coaching her on the trail and off. Keller joked with her, the two of them almost acting as if they had been sibkin. She was comfortable in the companionable silence of Wendal. Even Anton, the final holdout, tolerated her. In return, she treated each Elemental respectfully.

Salen was a different matter altogether. Knowing of the young woman's animosity toward the star captain, it was also no surprise that any response was curt.

Minh had not been circumspect with her thoughts about Salen. Salen had played on her emotions, lying to her about the relations between Keen and Suni. She did not know when she had realized it, but she knew deep down that Keen had not returned to Suni's embrace.

It offended Minh's sense of honor when she considered that Salen had lied. Actually lied! Warriors were not supposed to give in to dishonorable conduct. That went against clan custom. Of course, clan custom did not apply to those subjects lacking recognition in the eyes of the clan, such as love and romantic affection. At least, that was the unofficial interpretation, of course. A convenient technicality.

Minh had previously thought of Salen as a friend. That sentiment had obviously been mistaken. For some reason, the star captain continued her association with the Elementals as well as Minh. What did this woman want with her now? Whatever it was, Minh would not allow herself to be deluded again.

xxXxxxXxx

There was something about the bondwoman's contempt that bothered Salen. She did not understand interpersonal relationships. In clan society, when two warriors had a difference of opinion, they would meet in the Circle of Equals and fight it out to resolve it. This would not work in the case of Minh. For one thing, she was not a warrior. For another, Salen did not understand what the problem was between them. The small woman had responded favorably to the Elementals after having endured their punishment. What was different about the friction between Salen and Minh? More importantly, why did she even care? It was something that bothered Salen to no end.

It was this inexplicable need for reconciliation that compelled Salen to take the bondswoman out to dinner. It was first time since Minh had run away from her. Ostensibly, it was because Salen wanted to see for herself that the woman had accepted her place in the Wolf Clan. A test, if you will.

As they walked toward the gate that led off base, Salen tried to initiate conversation. It was not an easy thing to do, since Minh accompanied Salen only reluctantly. The first topic that came to mind was current events. To be specific, Keen's trial. Minh's response was totally unexpected.

"I feel responsible for his loss. He lost his focus when I turned him away. I undermined his self confidence and he was defeated because of that."

Minh could not explain why she spoke, but regretted having expressed her thoughts out loud. Salen paused and Minh half turned in surprise. Without further warning, Salen swung her arm violently at Minh's head. Minh ducked as she deflected the blow along her forearm, then stepped back in readiness for another attack. So simple and casual in execution, it was a display of economy of motion. At another time, Salen would have admired the instinctive reaction, but now she spoke furiously at the bondswoman.

"What sheer arrogance! To believe that one such as yourself can have a debilitating effect on a warrior like Keen is absurd!"

"I cannot hope to match any warrior's arrogance," Minh quietly countered. "Especially a warrior that would use innocents against another person."

"What do you mean by that?" Salen demanded.

"You are the warrior that taught me the definition of 'decimation'," Minh enunciated each syllable of the subject word precisely. "You are a warrior that would be willing to whip one woman of every ten in my barracks as punishment for disobedience on my part."

"Your attitude now borders on insubordinate disobedience," Salen bristled.

Salen's implied threat did not cause the reaction she sought. Rather than become submissive, Minh became argumentative.

"You do not need to make others suffer for me. If I have done wrong, whip me now!" Minh disputed. She waited for Salen to make a charge against her. When it did not come, she continued in a low voice. "If you try to whip those girls, I will stop you. I will face you anywhere."

"There is no way I will let a bondswoman dictate terms to me," Salen stated, willing to fulfill her promise to use the neural lash on the women in Minh's barracks to unsure the bondswoman's good conduct.

"I am not dictating terms at all. If I am deserving punishment, then hurt me. I am the one responsible," Minh declared, leaving the issue open. She stood ominously silent.

"Your majestic attitude does not suit you," Salen observed. _Actually, it does_, she reconsidered thoughtfully. It was not something she would care to admit out loud however. If she had hoped that this exchange of words had cleared the air between them, she was quickly disabused of that notion.

"I never imagined you would try to talk your way out of a challenge," Minh said in a provoking manner.

"You will get what is coming to you. I need not prove myself to you," Salen said in dismissal. "You will learn the error of your way. If you live."

"If you think you can take me, bring it on! You did not defeat me. That was Keen's victory."

"The little girl has spirit. You will need it." Salen felt the jibe about the battle where Minh had inflicted the disabling damage to her OmniMech.

"I am not interrupting anything, am I?"

Both women faced the new arrival. It was Rick. They had been so intent on each other that neither of them had seen him approach. Salen shot him a look of exasperation. Minh turned herself so that she could face both warriors at once.

"It looks like she is going to take us both on," he commented.

"Do not patronize me!" Minh snapped, her stare spearing sharply at him. Rick held his hands up disarmingly.

"I thought we were friends now."

Minh's glaring expression softened and she bowed to him.

"We are," she admitted, taking a deep breath. "I am sorry for my rude behavior." She straightened up. "We are on our way to supper. Perhaps you would care to join us."

The altercation that had been building between the women seemed to be forgotten. Rick's arrival had defused a potentially explosive confrontation. As for Minh, it was obvious she welcomed his company.

_She has been looking for a fight. Another moment and I would have given her one. Perhaps she will calm down now_, Salen thought.

"Ah! I needed this!" Salen sat the partially consumed bottle of cold beer down. Rivulets of condensation ran down the sides.

"Yes," Rick commented dryly.

Minh did not understand why Salen gave Rick a dirty look just for simply agreeing with her. As for Minh's personal comfort, the heat of the day was not a bother. The three of them sat at a table in a café. It was the same one where Minh had escaped from Salen. Minh suspected that was reason that Salen had chosen to return here. Her suspicion was confirmed when she turned to Minh.

"Perhaps you need to wash your hands?"

If Salen had sought to shame the bondswoman with a reminder of the ploy she had used at their previous visit, she would be disappointed. Minh looked back at the star captain placidly. In the time it had taken to travel to the restaurant with Rick, she had locked her feelings away, maintaining her cool emotion with an iron grip. An epitome of iron and ice.

"My hands are clean. You may wish to wash yours. I do not know where you have been," Minh responded cooly.

It was difficult for Rick to accept this young girl as an adult. He remembered her insensible rage when he first met her. She had impetuously barged into the gymnasium where he was training with his trinary. She had challenged him, defeating him barely two heartbeats after that. Now she was courteous. At least courteous to him. It was different with Salen. With an attitude of cold indifference, Minh seemed to be trying to provoke her. He knew Salen took offense, but so far the star captain had refused to rise to the bait.

When the waitress arrived at the table, Minh made her order from the choices written in chalk on the display board by the kitchen door.

"That certainly is rich," Salen commented, observing the fattening nature of the meal. Without waiting a beat, Minh changed her order.

"Please give me water and two crackers instead."

"No, give her what she asked for the first time," Salen said to the waitress, then she turned back to Minh and spoke tartly. "I should let you eat crackers."

Rick chuckled. Minh awarded him with an acknowledging glance.

Once the waitress left with their orders, the three settled down for some pre-dinner conversation. Rick conducted it by trying to draw Minh out. The two had very little in common. The small woman was not a MechWarrior, had never been one for that matter, but he could easily imagine her in the pilot couch of a BattleMech. Afterwards he would forget what they were talking about, but what he would remember was that Minh spoke without heat and in even tones. Salen did not speak much, uncharacteristically letting the other two converse. Then Minh's expression changed, from solemnity to a little smile. Her eyes warmed and she jumped up. There was a man at the door of the restaurant and had apparently been looking at the trio seated at the table.

Minh approached the man and spoke to him. The stranger gestured to the table where the warriors sat. Minh said something, turning her attention to Salen for a moment.

"I hate it when she does that," Salen groused to Rick.

"Does what?"

"I hate it when she looks at me like that. You cannot see what she is thinking."

Rick saw what Salen meant. The young woman's dark eyes gave no hint to the animosity she could display. Having been animated in welcome just moments before, they were now shuttered.

"Join us!" Minh urged solicitously to the man once more. Taking one of his hands in both of hers, she dragged the newcomer toward the table.

"Is she going to invite everybody she meets?" Salen demanded rhetorically. Rick looked at her, feeling vaguely insulted that his presence was inferred as unwelcome. However, Salen did not notice, her mind racing. _She dumped Keen for _him

Returning to the table with the stranger, Minh made the introductions.

"This is Guy. He is a tech from Quiet Springs. Guy, this is Salen and Rick. Rick is a MechWarrior."

Salen narrowed her eyes at the implied insult when Minh omitted her rank and MechWarrior status. Rick wondered why Minh was trying to start trouble with Salen. It was as if she were looking for a fight. He suspected that Salen would have her hands full if she chose to press the issue. To his surprise, she had chosen not to.

Rick was puzzled by Minh's conduct. He had been under the impression that the two women were friends. He wondered what had happened between them. Salen was trying to be congenial, but Minh was rejecting her. The bondswoman was being uncommonly difficult.

Guy looked ill at ease. Techs, especially from remote farming communities, did not normally associate with members of the warrior caste. He had also picked up on Minh's cool attitude toward Salen and it bothered him.

As Minh went to get the waitress, Guy looked at her appearance. She was so slender, much like when he had first found her those many months ago, looking like a half-starved child. In contrast, the women at Quiet Springs Farming Trust were well-fed, full-figured and healthy. Minh had clearly been in need of fattening up. However, in the company of these warriors now, she appeared to be a miniature version of Salen. She was leaner and more refined. The weight she had gained working as a house helper had been worked off. Her muscle tone discounted his first suspicion that these warriors were starving her. Long accustomed to seeing her wear a dress, she looked strange to him attired in a jumpsuit.

Salen had been clearly displeased by Minh's inclusion of the newcomer, but Rick did not mind. Minh took up the conversation once the waitress had taken Guy's order.

"I know a tech on the base. He thinks I might be able to find a drive belt for you. They have motorcycles here, too," she said. "But, I need another string to be sure it will be the right size."

"Here, take mine. I brought it in case I found a belt," Guy fished inside his chest pocket and pulled out a wadded coil of thread. He handed it to Minh, but Salen snatched it out of his hand instead.

"What _is_ this?" she demanded. She had seen one just like it in Minh's confiscated belongings.

"It's a measuring string. The two knots close together are the measure of the thickness of belt I need. That next knot up from them is the width. The entire piece of string is the outer diameter of the belt. You just lay the belt down and hold the string around the outside of it. If the ends meet, the belt is the right size," Guy explained. He nodded towards Minh. "Consuela thought of it."

"'Consuela'?" Rick repeated.

"That was the name I used when I was hiding," Minh explained.

"I wondered what that string was for," Salen murmured. She had uncoiled it and was fingering the knots.

"I wondered where my stuff went," Minh paraphrased critically. Salen looked sharply at her.

"Talk to your bondholder," she said, handing the string to Minh. "Do not bring that issue to me."

Guy looked uncomfortable at the unfriendly exchange. He glanced at Rick and noted his resigned look. Rick looked back and shrugged.

"I am surprised that you are on vacation so soon," Minh returned her attention to Guy.

"Beron let me take his time," Guy replied. "Next time my turn comes up, he can have double the time off."

"You must really want that belt," Minh commented, her eyes glittering with humor.

"We've all been worried about you," Guy explained. "A warrior wearing a leather jacket came to the house and asked a lot of questions about you. He wouldn't tell us if you were okay."

"Andre," Minh named the warrior he had described, having grown pale at hearing about him.

"Yeah, that's his name," Guy continued. "Since we had not heard whether you had been shot or not, I decided to come here and find out. Nobody I asked around here remembered seeing you, much less if something had happened to you."

"The idea was not to stand out," Minh sounded surprised. "They did not notice me, so they did not shoot me."

That statement was unbelievable to Rick. As an outsider, this woman had always stood out when she was in the company of warriors. For most of that time, she had been unwelcome. In his opinion, she had put up a mediocre fight when she had been captured. He did not know what Point Commander Keen had seen of her during that battle. After hearing examples of her subtle intelligence, he wondered how Keen had been so quick to see her apparent worth. The fact that she had managed to survive so long among the warriors, despite her misadventures, told him there had to be more to this woman than what he could see now. He would no longer underestimate this undersize youthful looking Asiatic bondswoman.

"Uh, yeah," Guy commented, bemused. "Well, I'm glad I found you before I ran out of vacation time. I leave in the morning. It looks like you're doing okay."

"Yes, I am well," Minh confirmed. "I miss everyone. I think of you all the time."

Salen guessed that Guy had more than a congenial concern for Minh. It was obvious that Minh considered the man a friend. She took her friendships seriously, but this guy probably wanted more from her than merely an acquaintance. After all, a person just did not travel long distances on a whim. That was just a waste of time.

Once their meals had been served to them, Minh continued to chatter. She was visibly happy as she conversed with Guy. She even managed to draw Rick into the conversation. All the while, she ate in a dainty manner as she kept up with the others. Salen kept silent, hoping that whatever it was that had been bothering the bondswoman was working out of her system.

At one point, Guy asked whether Minh had continued practicing her harmonica. She glared at Salen for a moment. Salen tilted her head back as a reminder that she was not at fault for the confiscation of Minh's things. Turning back to Guy, Minh replied that she had lost her harmonica as well.

"But I have been playing the air harmonica."

"'Air harmonica'?"

"One of my friends saw me and called it that," Minh demonstrated by holding an imaginary harmonica in front of her mouth.

"Show me."

Minh froze, her face becoming red. She would not let her eyes meet those of the others.

"Let me see," Guy gently urged the bondswoman.

Closing her eyes, she proceeded to pretend to play her make believe harmonica. She moved her hands, giving barely audible puffs or inhalations of breath. Guy began to nod as he watched. After about two minutes, she stopped. Lowering her hands, she stared down at her plate in embarrassment.

"Ah, 'Happy Time After Harvest Season'. Pretty good," Guy said, recognizing the tune. Minh smiled in acknowledgment.

"I do not believe this," Salen shook her head. Rick grinned at her discomfiture.

At the end of the meal, the two warriors signed vouchers provided by the waitress. Guy paid for his meal with scrip, handing some to the waitress and leaving another one on the table.

"She deserves a bigger tip than that," Minh commented.

"Yes, Mother," he replied with a smile.

Minh was surprised by the term of address and it showed on her face.

"Beron calls you that."

"I have never heard him say that," Minh murmured thoughtfully.

"He only does it behind your back," Guy replied. "The other girls aren't as meticulous about making sure all of the techs get fed at lunch." His wistful tone was clear.

Afterwards, they left the café. Minh promised to find a way to get a drive belt to Guy in Quiet Springs if she could find one that was the right size. She seemed as reluctant to see him leave as he was to leave her company. The affection the two had for each other was very overt, but eventually Guy went on his way.

Before they were out of sight, Guy paused to look back. He observed the ease with which Minh comported herself with her companions. He recalled that when he first met Minh, her eyes had a cautious look about them. Hunted, even. Now she had the look of a hunter, much like the two MechWarriors. She was at home here. Seeing her now, he felt that he had been silly to be concerned about her welfare. She did not need his help, much less his protection.

xxXxxxXxx

The next day in the armory, Minh was performing periodic maintenance on a pistol. She did not speak any more than usual, but her manner suggested that she was in a chipper mood.

Having completed the cleaning portion of her task, Minh placed the firing pin into its spring, then inserted the assembly into the weapon.

"So," Nagatake casually opened the conversation, "how was your date last night?"

As he had intended, he had caused her subtle emotional reaction. What happened next was an unexpected surprise. Minh's hand shook and she lost control of the firing pin. It sprang upward, striking the ceiling before she could catch it. Rebounding, it landed on the bench top. She lunged forward before it could bounce away, trapping it beneath her hand. Don began laughing at her less than graceful act of desperation.

This wasn't the first time this had happened to her. Once, she had lost control of the recoil spring and it shot across the armory. She forgot exactly why that happened, but it had occurred under similar circumstances.

With lips compressed, Minh narrowed her eyes and gave Nagatake a sidelong look. Nagatake had a twinkle in his eye, confirming that he had made that comment on purpose, just to shake her up. She set the pistol down, laying the firing pin and spring on the cleaning cloth next to it. With Don still chuckling, she went to the sink and cupped her hand under the faucet, filling her palm with water. With a quick motion, she dashed the handful of water across the room at the tech. He ducked under the droplets and they spattered against the wall instead.

Turning the water off, she wiped her hand on the thigh of her coveralls and returned to the work bench.

"What did he do?" Nagatake asked her. "I am the one who caused you to do that."

"He laughed," Minh said, picking the weapon up and attempted to reassemble it again. "You, I will get back. Later."

Minh did not know how she would do that. Most likely, she would forget about it. In the meantime, let him worry about what she could do. That was fine with her. Minh felt the warmth of acceptance she was receiving from these men. It pleased her.

Nagatake chuckled. He was pleased as well. She was in a playful mood, which was unusual for her. Having pushed her to make a positive emotional response, he was gratified to see that her attitude was improving. With all of the serious training the Elementals had been putting her through, he was afraid she was becoming a killing machine.

In the past, Nagatake noted that Minh had exhibited aggressive tendencies. He imagined that her sojourn with the farmers had toned that down. They were the type of folk that she could identify with, having been one of them in her former life. Her rehabilitation by the Elementals upon her return had driven her emotionally like debris cast by a whirlwind. She had struggled to remain firm in her convictions in the face of a typhoon of punishment. Nagatake was afraid that she had lost the battle, that she had given in. Minh had her limits, after all. His concern seemed justified when he learned that she had accepted these people and seemed to believe that their cause was just.

It was still unthinkable for him to believe a combine citizen could abrogate loyal beliefs, especially having witnessed her valor in combat in defense of the combine. From what he had known about her past, she had rebelled against her family's domestic plans for her. That was probably the root of her disaffection and the clan warriors had apparently capitalized on it. As a consequence, he could not overtly frustrate their plans for the woman. Not with the constant attention she received, but he could be a mentor, using his similar cultural origin to guide her emotionally. The clan could hone her skills into a weapon, but if he could influence her thinking, perhaps she would not become their weapon.

He was reminded of the training weapon he had commissioned for her. It should be ready soon. He would go out into the town to check on it later.

"For your information, I would never date _Salen,_" Minh said acerbically.

Don sputtered with renewed humor.

The heavy pounding on the armory door heralded the arrival of the Elementals. Don looked out the little window, then opened the door to admit them.

"You look happy," Anton observed dourly, as if declaring a violation. "What have you been doing?"

"Not me," Don denied, waving his hand at Minh and Nagatake.

Anton followed the weapon technician's gesture. Nagatake had a smile on his face, that in itself suspicious. He had never seen that man smile before. Minh's cheeks had taken on a deep blush. He noted movement on the wall and saw droplets of water trickling down.

"Never mind," he said. There was no fathoming these three.

xxXxxxXxx

Advanced Infantry Tactical Training School, Luthien

Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine

01 August 3051

Luthien military forces were being expanded at a tremendous rate. With a critical lack of officers to command them, sergeants were given command of platoons in lieu of brevet appointments. Huy Tran's training company was assigned to Gunso Gomez. That consolidated assignment in itself was unusual. Graduates were normally split up from their training companies and sent piecemeal to various units, providing experienced companies with new personnel while providing the new soldiers with the combined knowledge of the company. Apart from the gunso, there were no other experienced soldiers in the company. A cadre of go-cho, corporals, to augment the platoons and lead the squads would have been a logical arrangement. There had been talk that Huy's company was to be used as a reconnaissance unit or as shock troops. They would be used to get the enemy to reveal themselves on the battle field and waste ammunition on them. In essence, the green troops were considered expendable and not worth the assignment of valuable officers. In short, cannon fodder.

Disappointed and discouraged, the company gathered in the gymnasium to meet their new sergeant. The prescribed uniform was field utilities. The men milled about in a disorganized manner as the time for their meeting arrived and passed. It was a quarter of an hour after that when a stout Hispanic woman entered the room. Dressed in a well worn white gi with a white belt cinched around her midriff, she padded silently through the throng and stopped at the opposite wall. She had dark hair with a short braid pinned up behind her head. She turned and faced the men with her feet placed shoulder width apart and hands on her hips.

"I am Gunso Gomez!" she said in a raised voice.

None of the transferees had heard anything about Gomez, much less suspected her to be a woman.

"Oh, mamasita!" someone rudely commented from the back of the group.

"I am not your mother!" Gomez stated with subdued menace. She looked at them with eyes narrowed to slits. Although not as tall as many of the men, her posture made her seem larger. "Where is Tran?"

"Here, Gunso!" Huy piped up reflexively. He wondered what he had done to attract her notice. He found out quickly.

"Leonid told me about you," Gomez turned her attention to him. "Your sister died in this war. People die. That is a fact. Accept it now. I do not want you trying to prove something to us or to the enemy! Attitudes like that get people killed. If you get any of my people killed, I will shoot you myself!"

Gunso Leonid had been Huy's basic training drill sergeant. Huy thought he had heard the last of him. It figured.

"For you other guys, I served with Gunso Leonid in the DEST."

Gomez was in a Draconis Elite Strike Team? Huy could not believe it, much less that animal Leonid. Thinking of Leonid, he could not imagine him having friends, especially someone like Gomez.

"Front and center, Tran! This is for that comment!"

Huy had not made that comment. He was sure she was looking at him when it was spoken. He knew better than to speak up and attempt to correct her. Leonid had acted this way with him as well. If he tried to defend himself, it would seem like he was trying to weasel out of her lesson. He had the feeling that she wanted an excuse to pound him into the mat. He had not given her one and he would not make things worse by giving it to her. He would not make excuses, because no one respected that. Not only that, but he would not be able to respect himself if he did that.

Gomez noted his silence and lack of denial. She gave him points for that. What she did not know was how he would react in an actual combat environment. How he would respond when under fire. Leonid had warned her of his past, of his possible obsession for avenging the death of his sister. She had seen the flash of anger in his eyes when she mentioned his sister. That was to be expected, but she wanted to test his self control. Such a demonstration would ingrain her authority over the new company.

Heishi Tran would serve as her first example to the company. She had nothing against the private personally, but she would not let him become a liability. She knew of the rumors, that companies like hers were to be cannon fodder. It was not her intention to sell her meat so cheaply.

The white belt around her waist had deceived the company into believing that she was a novice in hand to hand combat. In actuality, she had black belt ratings in various martial arts. Since she traveled to other dojos, it was more respectful to the masters presiding there to wear the white belt. It also exhibited humility on her part not to boast of her ability. In this instance, it served as a training tool. She would dispel their false preconception by appearing less able than she really was. She would show them she was worthy to lead them.

The men spread out to give Gomez and Huy room to fight. Huy did not want to look poorly in front of his teammates. He had a reputation for trying to be the best soldier he could be. Noticing the wear of her gi, he knew instinctively that this woman could take him. He knew he wasn't going to win, but he hoped his best effort would be enough.

It wasn't by any margin he cared to measure by. He had intended to throw her, but she had whirled around and propelled him onto his belly. With one arm twisted back painfully and her knee in his kidney, he was effectively immobilized. With his head sideways, he could see her earnest expression as she leaned down to his ear.

"I really meant it when I said I will shoot you if I have to," she spoke in a breathless whisper.

Huy believed her. After Gomez had effortlessly wiped him across the gym floor a few more times, he was convinced of her acquaintance with Leonid as well.

After Huy, she challenged the others, singly and in groups that she defeated with ease. No matter what the rumors said about having only a sergeant to lead them, at least Gomez had demonstrated that she was competent.


	14. Chapter 12

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Twelve by D G Palmer

Fort Bivouac Meeting Hall

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

07 August 3051

Minh displayed small, delicate features. A natural head turner, she attributed the attention to her unusual small size, a result that could not be blamed on her Asian heritage. She was different from others, even those of her own family. It did not occur to her that she was in any way attractive to look at.

Her hair, having been uncut for months, hung smoothly down her back. She took pride in her neatly groomed appearance. It was a disgrace to appear slovenly. On the other hand, she was averse to any favorable reaction she perceived. Male attention was unwanted. In her culture, women did not associate freely with unfamiliar men. It gave the woman a less than honorable reputation. Honor was everything in the Draconis Combine. Unwanted attention was not flattering, but insulting and disrespectful. Only those in the entertainment industry sought such recognition.

In her own opinion, Minh was not on exhibit and she was not for sale. Any expressed appreciation for her was viewed with suspicion. In her opinion, she lacked the good looks to warrant such admiration. With that in mind, such admirers had to be false. They wanted something from her, something she would not care to give and that was why they would stoop to flattery.

Minh stood down on the stage in the meeting hall. This was the second time she had been in the building, but last time she sat on one of the benches overlooking the stage. With the bright lights shining down upon her, the audience seemed to be shrouded by shadow. The reason for the gathering was not to view her, but to decide what she represented to them.

Keen had already talked to her about this. This was an investigation by the Wolf Clan Council, a prerequisite for formal adoption into the Warrior Caste. What Keen had not told her was that it was Star Colonel Quint DeVega that was pressing for the investigation. Keen was worried about her. She had such an unpredictable nature. There was no telling how she would react in front of the Bloodnamed warriors. Being non-Blooded himself, he was prohibited from attending the proceedings. That being the case, he could not lend emotional support. It was not going to be a pleasant experience for her. Given her past performance in dealing with adversity, there was every likelihood that she would challenge and attack her tormentors. A questioning of her honor would be enough to set her off.

Minh was not alone on the stage. By her side was a warrior. He had in one ear a communications receiver. In his hand was a note pad. Approaching the two was a clerk bearing a plaque. He stopped in front of Minh, holding the plaque up before him. On it was the old Star League crest engraved beneath the insignia for the Wolf Clan.

"Place your right hand over your heart. Put your left hand on the plaque," he coached her. "Do you swear on the honor of the Wolf Clan to tell the entire Truth and not to rest until Justice is done in this matter?"

"Aff, I so swear."

Minh understood the gravity of the situation she found herself in. She was standing before the Clan Council, composed of members who had earned their Bloodnames. The council formed the ruling body of the clan. They elected the Khan and saKhan, who represented the them on the Grand Council. The Clan Council debated and regulated the clan as well as passed judgement over matters of honor concerning the clan and bloodlines it controlled. In short, these men and woman had the power of life and death over her.

The clerk nodded, then turned and departed from the stage. A disembodied voice ordered the commencement of the session. It was the Clan Loremaster, speaking from the Clan Council Chamber in the Hall of Wolves. Minh assumed that was where she should have been tried, but apparently she was not worth the resources it would take to send her there.

There was a console where the Loremaster would sit if he were physically present at Fort Bivouac. It was slaved to his own panel where he was actually presiding. On the front of the console were three lights with numeral indicators next to them. At present, the numbers each read zero. Keen had told her that the red, black, and white represented the votes for Aye, Nay, and abstention. The holographic display over the stage created an enlarged score panel. This provided the audience behind the Loremaster's vacant bench a view of the panel that was facing the stage. Minh had looked up at it once, but it looked incomprehensible from the angle where she stood.

The Clan Council Chamber had terminals at every seat with voting lights that lit up. The meeting hall here lacked that amenity, but each warrior did have the means to vote fro where they sat.

There were not that many Blooded warriors in the meeting hall at Fort Bivouac. Most of the others were elsewhere on planet. From what she had been told, this hall lacked the grandeur of the main chamber in the Hall of Wolves. It had a circular stage that turned so that the surrounding benches would have an opportunity to face those displayed upon it. Instead, a camera was pointed at her. It sent her image and testimony to their remote locations as well as to the hologram that hovered overhead.

The warrior at her side spoke to her. She tried to ignore the echo of his voice as it was repeated over the loud speakers in the hall. With his hand holding the communications receiver in his right ear, it was obvious he was being coached in his speech.

The man was a relatively low ranking MechWarrior, a star commander. He stated that he would be acting as inquisitor. While he explained Minh's status and rights, her mind wandered. Keen had already informed her of them. She was not entitled to an advocate to help in her defense because she was not a warrior. She was on her own here.

_Never a break_, she thought. It did not matter. It was her lot in life here now. It was then that she noticed AeroSpace Pilot Stev Ch'in seated in the audience. It was his widely space eyes that had first caught her attention. It had been months since she had seen the pilot. A smile of recognition touched her lips. Normally unnoticed by anyone too far away, the camera was close enough to pick up and transmit the expression to the holo over her head. Stev raised a couple of fingers before himself in acknowledgment. Other warriors looked around themselves to discover what she was looking at. Minh was brought back to awareness by the inquisitor's request. He had just asked if she understood what he had said. She turned and looked up at his face, giving him a curt nod of affirmation.

"You must make verbal responses," the inquisitor sternly stated.

_I knew that_, Minh thought, feeling her face become a bit warm. _This is what I get for not paying attention._

"I understand."

As she sought to get over her embarrassment, she noticed Callista Murphy. Larger than the other warriors seated around her, it would have been difficult not to see her. Her scalp was clean shaven with the exception of a single platinum ponytail. The woman was looking at her in an unpleasant fashion, as if she were examining an unwanted insect. Minh unconsciously lifted her chin and drew herself up.

That got a reaction from another warrior in the audience. Minh noted the man and wondered where she had seen him before. She did not know his name, but suspected that she should remember him.

It was Star Colonel Quint DeVega. He certainly knew Minh. This was the second time he had laid eyes on her in person. The first time was on the DropShip departing the JumpShip Trailblaze. Prior to that, he had only seen her on a battle recording and viewed her picture from her confiscated Draconis Combine military identification card. She was not acquainted with him, but she was well known to him.

"State your name for the record," instructed the inquisitor.

"I am Minh."

"You will provide your entire name."

"I have been made to understand that I am not entitled to more than one name."

The inquisitor stared at her for a moment, then looked down at his note pad. Gathering his thoughts, he rephrased his inquiry.

"What was your name and rank prior to your introduction to Clan Wolf?"

"Prior to my _capture_," Minh stated emphatically, "I was known as Gunso Minh Tran, commander and gunner of the tank Go-Four of the Provost Militia." That was more information than he had requested, but she wanted to remind these people that she was more than some wretch that they had picked up along their travels.

"What was your rank?"

_This guy thinks 'Gunso' is my name_. Minh gave the warrior a look not unlike that given to her by Batiste when he was accusing her of being crazy.

"What was your name and militia rank?"

Minh opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the inquisitor.

"Your entire name. You are instructed to give complete answers. Answer the questions in full." It was clear that he was speaking for others as they spoke into his ear device. "You have wasted enough time."

"I told you what I thought you were asking," Minh responded blithely. She had an embarrassing urge to smile. "My rank was Gunso. I was Gunso Minh Tran."

The inquisitor was silent, listening to the device in his ear.

"What is 'gunso'?"

"'Gunso' is what we in the Draconis Combine call a sergeant," Minh explained. "Perhaps you would equate the rank to MechWarrior or Elemental point commander."

The warriors present in the hall shifted uneasily at her discourse. It was clear that they did not appreciate the comparison of their rank system with that of a defeated foe. The inquisitor listened to his com unit.

"You said that your rank was in the militia. Does that mean that you were not military?"

"You did not care to verify my bona fides when you attacked us."

"Answer the question."

"I do not know how to answer."

The inquisitor made to speak again when Minh continued.

"When I enlisted in the militia, I had to swear an oath of obedience to my superiors. My chain of command were members of the DCMS. At the time I believed myself to be a member of the people's army. Now it is my belief that my reason for serving was mercenary in nature."

From the muttering, the warriors did not like the reference to mercenaries. The clan dealt harshly with them. Mercenaries were not popular in the combine, neither.

"The DMCS. That is an acronym for Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery, quaff?"

"Aff."

"Explain your mercenary comment."

"I wanted to improve my lot in life. In return for military service, I could have earned the opportunity to go to college."

There was a hiss of displeasure from the audience.

"You sold your military service for personal gain?" the inquisitor sounded incredulous. He looked upon her as if she were something unclean.

"Aff," she said, shamefaced. "I have since learned the error of my ways."

"In what way?"

"It is not enough to make a better life for myself. It is mankind that needs a better life. No one house can resurrect the Star League. The other ruling houses will not permit it to rule over them. Only the clan has the power to bring back the Star league and reunite the ruling houses. I want to see peace return to society. The Star League will do that by uniting worlds and eliminating want. Without want, there will be no more war, bringing the league back to it's former glory. It is to this end that I wish to devote myself."

_Can this girl really be this naive?_ The inquisitor wondered, looking down at the youthful looking woman. Her explanation sounded too elementary to his ears.

"That is why you want to become a full fledged member of the clan?" Even as he spoke, he realized that she could read his expression of disbelief.

"You asked," she said simply.

"A warrior lives to fight. If you want peace, why did you not remain in Quiet Springs?"

It would seem that Andre had been talking to the inquisitor prior to the inquisition. Remembering Andre, the warrior that had questioned her a number of times, was cause enough to shake her composure.

"There is no peace for one living under death sentence," Minh responded after a moment. "It would only have been a matter of time before I was discovered. The people I was living with would have been punished for sheltering me. Possibly killed as accessories. It would not matter that they are innocent. They believed me to be a runaway girl. I had changed my name and-." Her voice trailed off. She gestured to herself, emphasizing her small size. She started to say something else, then closed her mouth.

"What was that?" the inquisitor asked in a predatory manner.

A faraway look came into Minh's eyes as she remembered. "I almost killed a man. An innocent man. I just wanted to preserve my freedom. A man's death is not worth that. That is why I came back. If anyone should die for any choice that I make, then that person should be me. That is why I came back."

"Hardly the sterling actions expected of one that would become a warrior," the inquisitor muttered. He suddenly took hold of his right ear, holding the com unit firmly, then nodded once. Apparently rebuked, he gave no more of an acknowledgment than that. Raising his notepad, he began to read from it out loud.

"It has been reported that the subject individual has been habitually unmanageable. I will read a list of the highlights.

"Uncooperative during questioning, extreme measures were required." Of course Minh had been uncooperative. That had been when she had just been captured by the enemy. An enemy that, until that time, had been unknown to her. She could not understand why her accusers thought it was so unusual. She had been indoctrinated by cadre from the DCMS to deny her captors any information they would seek to use against her government. Certainly any Wolf Clan prisoners in custody of the combine would be just as resistant to interrogation.

"Neural lashed for disobedience." That was true. She had been disobedient, but that was not the entire story. She had slipped the bond cord from her wrist after Vera had used it to compare the two of them. Minh had been insulted when told that they were the same. That nasty slob had ruled over the bondwomen through pure viciousness. Minh was not like that at all. Salen had caught her just as she had removed the cord and ordered her to put it back on. Minh could not remember if she spoke during her refusal, but she refused to follow the MechWarrior's order. For that defiance, she had been whipped. It was not an event she cared to recall.

"Attempted suicide." Another event she would rather just forget. She had just begun to prosper among the warriors when she was condemned by Nagatake for deserting her responsibility as a combine soldier. Even though she had been powerless to resist her captors, she was reminded that she had a duty to her people back home. He referred to her family, which awakened a sense of guilt so powerful that she was compelled to take her own life. After that attempt, Nagatake returned and absolved her of that obligation. It had taken her a long time to deal with the confusion of conflicting thoughts. Even now, she could not think of that time without an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The pale scar on her larynx seemed to itch, but Minh resisted the urge to touch it. The last of the angry redness had since faded. She hoped that no one could see it now. The watching Bloodnamed warriors were seated too far, but the camera could probably pick it up.

"Assault of MechWarriors onboard the JumpShip Trailblaze." _Trailblaze? I never knew the ship even had a name._ Another memory surfaced involving Vera. The bully had badly beaten Katya, a newly acquaintanced friend of Minh's. It was a challenge that angered Minh. Before she could go in search of Vera, she was stopped and talked out of her retribution. Having been forced to forgo the challenge, she sought instead to meet with individuals training for self defense in the gymnasium. MechWarriors. She all but slaughtered every one she met on the mat. Batiste finally put her down, ending her momentary madness that had been brought on by frustration.

"Assault on bondholder." _Assault on Keen?_ Minh wondered what the inquisitor was talking about. Then she remembered the incident when she slapped him. There had been plenty of witnesses to that indiscretion. She was upset, having heard him boast of his massacre of the soldiers from her company. She still did not completely understand that he had honored them by claiming their deaths. She knew what he was saying intellectually, but on a base level she still abhorred the concept.

"Inciting riotous behavior in the transient barracks." It had been too organized to be a riot. It was more like a protest. One directed against the male members of the barracks. Minh wondered why she had not been charged for being the ringleader of an uprising. Perhaps it was because she had not declared opposition to the warrior caste. She personally felt it was their fault for letting the situation get out of hand. Some warriors had actually stood in the sidelines and watched. Keller had given her a hand signal of approval afterwards. It had ended peacefully, but it could have very well gone the other way.

"Escape from the custody of a warrior." Minh was definitely guilty of that charge. She understood that the trinary had mobilized a lot of assets in an attempt to recapture her. No, not recapture. Elimination. Minh had thought it inconceivable that BattleMechs had been sent after her, but that was what Don and Nagatake had told her. If she had been located, inferno rounds would have been used against her. Even though the war machines had not expended any ammunition, it would not be forgotten that it was because of her that they had been called up in the first place. She had caused them to waste effort on her behalf. That was her true crime.

"Conspiracy to commit murder." Minh had been facing the audience, but her head quickly turned to the inquisitor. Her eyes dropped to his notepad. The inquisitor turned the pad away so she could not read it. He looked back at the bondswoman in warning when he noticed something curious about her dark eyes. She had no expression, but there was something hidden there. He could sense her menace.

_She does not agree with that_, he thought. If she were a warrior, she could challenge her accusers to the Circle of Equals. With what he had heard of her, it would take an Elemental to defeat her.

Minh had not been a conspirator in the attempted murder of her friend Katya. The murder charge had been dropped against her when Keen had personally questioned Katya herself. The conspiracy had been a demented plot by Vera to frame Minh as a killer.

_That vile woman is dead. Will Vera never leave me in peace?_ Minh despaired to herself, careful not to let her true feelings show. _Why are they bringing this false charge up?_

As soon as she thought of that, she knew the true reason. Someone was trying to shake her up, to make her lose control. From the hostile tone of questioning, she knew she was being set up to fail.

_If that is what they want to do to me, I will not make it easy for them_, she decided.

"Unauthorized destruction of equipment and endangerment of lives." That had occurred during the field exercise that had put the diminutive woman to the test. She had been issued a big bore rifle with the admonition not to target personnel. It would be considered splitting hairs for her to state that she had not done that. She had instead targeted the vehicle they were riding in, disabling it in order to put them on the same footing as herself. With her weapon not properly zeroed and the rapidity in which she set up the shot against a moving target, she could have very easily shot one of the occupants by mistake.

"What do you have to say for the charges that have been made against you?"

"I am innocent of the charge of attempted murder."

"Earlier in your testimony, you freely admitted that you were capable of killing a man of your acquaintance."

"Saying that I can do something is not the same as actually doing that thing."

"Nevertheless, the charge has been made against you."

Minh looked at the inquisitor, silent for a moment.

"I understand that the charge was dropped," she finally responded. "I suggest that you get all of the facts before you say something like that."

"The bondswoman is reminded to remain respectful before this assembly!" the Loremaster's voice sounded suddenly. Startled by the interruption, Minh managed to keep her surprise from showing.

The inquisitor listened to his earpiece, then spoke.

"It has also been noted that the accused had intervened during the recent Trial of Bloodright for the house of Murphy." He was obviously not through rendering accusations.

Minh said nothing. The inquisitor paused, then continued.

"It has been alleged that you had interfered with the ritual process."

Minh puzzled over the accusation. The way it had been phrased sounded curious to her. All she had done was encourage Callista to spare Keen's life. The outcome of the battle had already been decided. Callista was the victor. Minh had not done anything to change that. The only difference was that Keen was alive. It would seem that someone would have benefitted from his death and the accusation was a result of that disappointment. She felt a chill that such malevolence was still being directed at one of her friends.

"I am not sure I understand," Minh made eye contact with the inquisitor. When she was sure she had his attention, she moved her eyes to indicate the audience. "Callista had already won her match against Keen."

"That is Point Commander Callista Murphy to you!" the inquisitor corrected her.

"Thank you. I did not know that," Minh moved her eyes again. The look of incomprehension made it clear that the inquisitor did not understand what Minh's silent gesture was supposed to convey to him. "According to your charge, the point commander would not have won her Bloodname without my interference."

The inquisitor looked toward the audience in the direction of Minh's surreptitious glance. He was instantly aware of Callista Murphy's smoldering expression directed at him. He quickly returned his attention to Minh as the implication of her comment became clear to him.

"The validity of the decision of that Trial of Bloodright is not in question," he explained. It was clear he was unwilling to proclaim such a challenge. Callista Murphy was indeed formidable. It would be dangerous to infer any insult to her.

Minh managed not to smile at the warrior's discomfort. She could not deny her role in preserving Keen's life. There had been nothing to be gained by wasting it. Proving to be a valuable warrior, eliminating him from the combat roster would have been unwise.

It was not an investigation so much as an inquisition. From the antagonistic tone of questioning it was clear that Minh herself had been found undesirable.

"There is the question of your strength of character," the inquisitor looked at his notepad. He had lost his momentum when he allowed the bondswoman to put him on the defensive. He was gratified to see that he had scored with the latest question. Her eyes seemed to cut into him like a pair of obsidian blades.

"Most specifically, your escape from proper authority and subsequent return."

"I believe I explained that already," Minh said patiently. The dangerous glitter in her eyes belied her calm tone.

"It does not explain your loyalty."

Minh did not know what point the inquisitor was trying to make. She remained silent, since he had not asked her to reply. Until he did, she did not wish to incriminate herself in a matter she had yet to understand.

"You spoke of your support for the return of the Star League," the inquisitor said. "Should someone not of the clans come to you and identify themselves as Star League, would you choose to accompany them?"

Minh felt uncomfortable. She was the focal point of so many people, a majority of them watching her remotely. She tried not to think about the audience, both here and at the Hall of Wolves. She did not dare let herself lose face in front of them. She tried to forget the presence of the others by concentrating on the inquisitor. Having heard the question, she began to formulate the response in her mind. The inquisitor let his impatience show as she remained silent. It pleased Minh to see that. It gave the audience someone else to attract their attention, detracting it from her.

The reason for her silence was more profound than simply harassing the inquisitor. The answer that she was asked to give could very well condemn her. The truth of the matter was that if she encountered a representative fo the Star League, she would unequivocally give her support. Surely her questioner should know that. If she attempted to claim that she would remain with the clans, it would invalidate her previous testimony. To admit his suspicion would confirm the charge of disloyalty.

That was the point right there. Minh was not loyal to Clan Wolf. She had never claimed to be. It was only recently that she had become disillusioned with her former belief in the ethical principles of the Draconis Combine. The history she had been taught in her youth of the combine's role in the fall of the Star League was not supported by what she had come to learn in Quiet Springs. It would seem that the combine had a share in the blame for the breakup of the Star League. After hearing that alternative point of view, she felt she had been deceived.

"Shall I repeat the question?"

"That will not be necessary," Minh shook her head. "I have come to learn that the clans are descended from the armed forces of the Star League. It is to that ideal that I have given myself."

The inquisitor stared at her. Her answer had provided too little information. He was about to tell her to answer the question to the satisfaction of the assembly when Minh did just that.

"If I should discover that to be false, I would be morally obligated to search out the true Star League."

"Do you have any such doubts now?"

"Not at this time."

"Do you realize how arrogant you sound? You are only a bondswoman. It is not your place to judge your betters."

"So I understand," Minh nodded. "However, you asked me to tell the truth. If you do not care for the answers that you find unpleasant, then you should not ask such questions of me."

"The bondswoman will not lecture the forum! Inquisitor! Remain on the issues at hand!" the Loremaster commanded over the loudspeakers. The inquisitor's face reddened at the reprimand. He looked at his notepad to get his thoughts together, then returned his attention to Minh.

"You claim that you have given yourself to your ideals," he began. "Tell us, what ideals allowed you to surrender to the clans in the first place?"

_He is casting doubts on my dedication_, Minh thought.

"I did not surrender," she said aloud. "I knew that day on the battlefield that it was to be a fight to the death. I asked for no quarter and I expected none."

She had been captured by force. Although her tank had been immobilized, her gauss rifle was still operational. She had one last chance to shoot at the OmniMech she had been dueling with and she took aim at it. When the armor of her turret was peeled away, a happenstance she never knew to be possible, she realized that her death was at hand. Rather than attempt to avoid her impending fate, she disregarded her own life to fire one last shot. Not much good, as it turned out. She merely immobilized the OmniMech in turn.

_I think Salen is still angry about that_, Minh thought. "As the single remaining combatant facing you on the field, I was struck down during the battle and that was how I was captured."

_Just surviving a losing battle against BattleMechs is an achievement in itself. Continuing to fight them knowing that I was the only one left was suicide. Brave, but suicidal. Perhaps they will believe me now. I meant what I said about following my ideals._

Minh was starting to wonder how well she was presenting herself when the Loremaster interrupted the proceedings once more.

"Enough of this! I call for the vote whether or not the bondswoman Minh should be accorded the rights and duties of a Warrior of the Wolf Clan. A majority of the vote is all that is required of the Clan Council to reject this pup."

_Well, now I know_, Minh thought. An adoptee was required to prove worthiness prior to acceptance in the sponsoring clan. Minh had to prove she had the heart, mind, and soul to be a Warrior. She thought she had been holding her own against her accusers and it would seem that they thought so too. They would now push the vote.

"Register your votes now."

While Minh waited for the results of the voting, it occurred to her that the inquisitor had not used all of her activities against her. The incident that came to mind involved her successful participation in the warrior readiness test. It was not so much a test of marksmanship as it was a test of mental endurance. The purpose was to observe how a new warrior reacted in less than optimum conditions. She had later learned that there was some controversy over her victory. Given the parameters, she had been set up to fail. In fact, she had almost quit. That in itself would be enough to bring further criticism upon her, were anyone to know of that. However, that was not the issue. She had not adhered to the instructions she had been given. Not only did she fire on a vehicle containing live personnel, but she failed to follow the order to debark the aircraft at the correct time. Although the judge administering the test could have decided otherwise, he had ruled that Minh had acted in the spirit of the examination. The unanticipated result was that the test was proof of her ability to succeed despite unexpected adversity.

_Either they respect my achievement or they are not confident they can minimize it_, Minh guessed.

She was brought back from her reverie by a strange noise from the inquisitor. He was looking to the Loremaster's empty seat where the vote results were posted. The digital readouts were still adding up, but so far the vote was against Minh was by a margin of twenty. She did not understand why he was unhappy by the vote. A simple majority was all that was required to refuse her adoption and the inquisitor clearly did not want her in his clan.

Then she noticed the abstentions. The number was more than a hundred votes higher than those against her. The abstentions did not matter either way. All that meant was that those voters did not care to make a decision. On the other hand, it made the actual decision that much closer.

_The story of my life_, Minh thought ironically, watching the two lesser sets of numbers slowly add up. They had yet to reach two hundred while the abstaining voters surpassed six hundred. At the moment, the deciding vote was against her.

A warrior could challenge the vote by fighting a representative champion of the clan in the Circle of Equals. As a bondswoman, Minh was denied that option. In a few moments, it would be all over for her.

"Hardly a surprise," the Loremaster spoke up. At that moment, the vote changed one last time as a few undecided voters cast their choices. The number of those that had abstained stopped at 789. The number representing the Nay vote was 299.

So many nines in those numbers, Minh observed distantly. The third sum was made up of smaller numerals. It took a heartbeat for Minh to comprehend the tally she saw next to Aye; 312.

The inquisitor was visibly shaken by the vote. Less than a quarter of the votes were in favor of Minh, only twenty two percent. Was that some sort of record? Only 611 had cared enough to vote one way or the other. Many of the voters did not care about the trinary anyway, but this was unconscionable. They were so pathetic, it was totally uncharacteristic of the clan way. The inquisitor was actually embarrassed. Would the lackluster vote be a reflection on his performance?

This woman was bonded to Keen. His defeat at the final round of his trial of Bloodright had contributed to the council's apathy. The defeat had also detracted from the reputation of the trinary to which he was assigned. It was a reputation that had not been worth much to begin with. It was obvious from the vote that no one care for a nothing trinary.

"This is hardly a decisive vote," the Loremaster declared. "Rather than waste any more time voting on this individual, let her prove her merit by right of trial. The bondswoman will test in seven days."

The unspoken message was that the clan would not benefit by permitting admittance by default. The dissenting votes were nowhere close to a majority for rejection. Neither were the votes for acceptance. Therefore, a final trial was called for in true clan fashion. The council would place the decision squarely on Minh. It would be up to her. It was obviously the last chance she would ever get. Fail it, and there would be no more opportunities.

"Point of issue!" the inquisitor spoke up. He had been looking at his notepad, clearly unhappy by the Loremaster's ruling.

"Speak!" the Loremaster commanded impatiently.

"The bondswoman is only nineteen years. She will not be of test age for five months. In January."

"There are operational concerns that will prohibit testing at that time," the Loremaster explained with exaggerated forbearance. The inquisitor winced at the tone. "The bondswoman's age is within the acceptable range for testing.

"This meeting is now over!" With that declaration, the overhead hologram vanished and the light casting down upon the stage was perceptibly dimmer.

Minh knew nothing of the operations referred to by the Loremaster, but the terms of her test confirmed her suspicions that she was expected to fail. She knew she lacked the amount of training a warrior trainee could be realistically be expected to have.

Minh knew she was tough, thanks to the conditioning given to her by Keen's point of Elementals. She had nothing to fear from the average individual. In her opinion, there was not a MechWarrior that could stand up to her, at least none that she had ever met. Her most serious opponents would be Elementals and those warriors that had specialization in hand to hand fighting. Given the nature of her previous test, she could expect to battle opponents in a combat situation.

With the session ended, the warriors in the audience rose from their seats and made their way to the exits. Minh was about to leave the stage when the inquisitor touched her arm.

"Remain here. Stev Ch'in wishes to speak with you," he instructed her. She nodded and looked to the seating area. The AeroSpace Pilot was making his way down the to the platform. Upon reaching her side, he greeted her in Japanese, complimenting her coolness under duress.

"You have been practicing," Minh said suspiciously. Stev was closer to her size so she did not have to look up at him as she had with everyone else.

_She sounds jealous. I wonder why?_ Stev thought. "I have been listening to news holovids, repeating the pronunciation that I have heard. I noticed that your English has improved as well."

_Where did he get news spoken in the Japanese language? Certainly not from around here_, Minh realized the answer a moment after the question occurred to her. _That must be part of the information brought back by the trinary when I was captured._

"You have attracted much attention to yourself lately," Stev continued. "If you should fail the test, other clans will be able to put forth claims on you."

"The Loremasters of the Hell's Horses and Ghost Bears have been asking about this pup. I doubt that it is much more than curiousity," the inquisitor said to Stev.

Minh looked surprised. Both by the news and by the reference to her as a pup. The Loremaster had also referred to her by that name.

"I can understand the interest from Hell's Horses," Stev said. "They make extensive use of vehicles. I cannot imagine the motive of the Ghost Bears, but then they are not noted for orthodoxy."

Minh did not feel pride so much at the attention as dread at the thought of leaving her friends. Her uneasiness began when Stev confirmed her suspicion that he had been viewing news from her home. She missed her best friend Consuela back in Little Anaheim. Consuela and her own family. Before she could dwell on them, the inquisitor turned to Minh.

"You were certainly cool under my fire," he offered his hand. Caught by surprise, Minh accepted it without thinking. "After our verbal sparring match, I do not know whether I should shake your hand or wring your neck." That last comment was delivered with a wry grin.

"Minh brings out that urge in many people," Salen joined the conversation. Not having a Bloodname, she had not been allowed to view the proceedings. Neither she nor Minh's bondholder, Keen. The Elemental had arrived with her as the final Bloodnamed warriors were leaving. Coming in the door, he had encountered Callista Murphy just as she was making her exit. It had been their first face to face meet since their battle. The man had been rethinking their previous encounter, deciding that he should have been more circumspect, circling the mud slide site outside of metal detection range. He should not have gone straight in like he had done. _Hindsight is so obvious_, he had mused. Callista had the hint of a smirk, as if she could read his thoughts. Keen remained impassive, determined not to give her further satisfaction. Be that as it may, she had won and nothing could change that now.

"I hope you make it," the inquisitor said, releasing Minh's hand and leaving.

"Make what?" Salen asked.

"Minh is required to take one final test to qualify for adoption into Clan Wolf," Stev explained, waving his hand at the display facing the stage. The vote was still posted.

"That is nonsense!" Salen sounded outraged. "She won! How can you invalidate her victory?"

"It was decided that there was too much of a margin of uncertainty," Stev said, holding his hands up to placate Salen's sudden wrath. He looked more amused than concerned. "Do not blame me for it. I voted 'Aye'. The girl has a lot of heart. The clan can only gain by adopting her."

Minh saw Keen's silent nod at Stev's statement. The Elemental's attention was completely on her. She felt as uneasy as she had when she stood under the scrutiny of the Bloodnamed warriors minutes earlier.

"I think now would be a good time to leave and have lunch," Stev suggested.

Speaking Japanese, Minh admitted to Stev that she was afraid to move from the platform. She still felt shaky.

"In your place, I would have sweated blood," Stev said emphatically. He spoke in English, having seen Salen's unfavorable reaction to Minh's foreign speech. "These guys are almost gone. No one will notice any perceived weakness."

"The girl is only nineteen. Do they know that?" Salen would not drop the subject.

"It does not matter. She will test in seven days. The council has spoken," Stev intoned.

"Just barely," Salen said, looking at the vote tally. Minh wondered why Salen cared. The women had long been at odds with each other.

"The coming of age for a warrior is twenty years," Keen explained to Minh, misconstruing the confusion concerning Salen revealed by her expression to be ignorance.

"She is not ready! There is no way she will be ready!" Salen declared.

"Watch me."

Unnoticed by the small group was Callista Murphy. After Keen had passed her, she had stopped just inside the exit to watch them. She too had been unhappy by the voting results, having voted her conscience against Minh. She did not know what was so special about this woman, one so totally unsuited to the Elemental lifestyle. She did not feel that the bondswoman had been worth the time and resources that could have been used to better effect elsewhere. Not even wishing to waste the effort to shake her head, she turned and walked away.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh had expected the pace of her training to pick up, now that she had a definite deadline to meet. With five Elementals and MechWarriors Salen and Rick to lend their efforts in support of her conditioning, she did not want for attention. Even Stev Ch'in was on hand to provide emotional stabilization. She had believed that she would have to learn more in the short time she had remaining before her test. That belief was mistaken. Instead, her trainers concentrated on refining the skills she had already developed. It was logical. There really was too little time to do anything else.

Keen had been in a disagreeable mood. Not unusual in an Elemental, given their power and temperament, but Keen was more taciturn than contentious. At least he was before Minh had been sentenced to the Trial of Adoption. Minh perceived the impression that the trial was an unusual development. He divided his time between training his bondswoman and keeping Don the weapon tech busy. The tech had not been seen in the armory during the week prior to the test.

Nagatake had also been spending time with Minh, but not as much as he would like. With Don gone so much of the time, the task of assisting the Elementals in their weaponry needs fell to him. He took every opportunity to inspire the young woman's personal responsibility. With her physical conditioning, she clearly projected power. She was like a wild animal, unpredictable and dangerous. His object was to bind that power with her strength of character, but that additional instruction would have to wait. The time she had spent in the previous months had been physically intensive. With the deadline looming over her, the last thing she needed was the distraction of Nagatake contributing discipline to the physical activity the Elementals had added.

Nagatake was present two days before the trial. He was to meet the Elemental team at the nature trail. He had taken the truck to pick up the weapons and equipment from them. Sitting in the shade of the truck, he watched a quintet of MechWarriors finish their training exercises and begin their run into the woods. He looked at his watch for perhaps the tenth time since he had arrived. He had been a little early, just to be safe, but the point was late for the rendezvous.

When he looked up, he was startled to see six figures running across the clearing toward the truck. It looked like a full bore assault, but what amazed Nagatake was the silence of the runners. In addition to their helmets, torso armor, and back packs, they carried ammunition for the machine guns Batiste and Anton carried. The others were armed with assault rifles. Barely a second had passed from the time he had spotted them when they threw themselves down on the grass.

_They waited for me to look away before they attacked_, Nagatake realized. They had broke through their concealment of bushes and trees without making a sound, using his momentary inattention to close the range. That should not have surprised him, since he had ample opportunity to see what these large men could do. Nevertheless, being the apparent target for five armed men and a woman was shocking. He could see the ammunition belts in the machine guns and assumed that the magazines in the rifles were loaded as well. Having been the one to arm them, he knew that the ammunition was real, not inert training rounds.

Seeing their serious faces put a chill down his spine. Even Minh displayed no intention that this was anything but a real attack. At that distance, he could not see much more than her face, but he could imagine the dispassionate set of her eyes as she prepared to fire at him.

Would they fire? He did not know, but he did not feel that it would be foolish to yield to them. Without changing his seated posture, he slowly raised his hands over his head.

After a moment, Keen gave a hand signal. Minh and Keller rose form their flanking positions and carefully made their way to the truck. They moved in a semicircle, keeping well clear of their team's lanes of fire. They kept their rifles pointed in the direction they were looking.

_They are really light on their feet, even with all of that gear on_, Nagatake thought approvingly as a former infantry officer. As they got closer, he could see that anything hanging loose that could cause noise on them or get snagged on branches had been taped down. He could barely hear their boot-clad footfalls in the dirt. The two passed on each end of the truck, leaving his field of vision. He strained to listen, all the while staring down the four remaining muzzles. Quite unexpectedly, he could hear the cab door of the truck open suddenly. He could actually feel the motion through the wheel of the truck.

"Clear!" Minh's voice sounded.

From the force used to open the door, Nagatake assumed it had been Keller. In his mind's eye he could see the large man standing clear of the door while the woman aimed her rifle into the cab at any potential enemy in the truck. That was the accepted procedure. Minh would be able to keep both of her hands on her weapon while the Elemental opened the door, permitting her to provide covering fire if needed.

Keen spoke quietly, then the three others rose with him from their positions. As they approached, he flashed a hand signal toward the truck and moments later Keller and Minh returned to Nagatake's side of the vehicle.

The team doffed their armor, helmets, weapons, and packs at the truck. Nagatake gathered the belted ammunition and grenades and began replacing them into their metal storage cases. He marveled at the trust these warriors had given him, a former officer of the Draconis Combine. It was the first time he had unrestricted access to weapons. It would not be difficult for him to use the weapons on the Elementals. If it were not for Minh, he would be tempted to do just that. Perhaps he should, he considered while he layered a belt of machine gun ammunition down into it's metal box. He could take out Minh before she really dishonored herself and the Draconis Combine. The urge to put the young woman out of their joint misery was almost overwhelming. Where their honor was concerned, both were at stake. Realistically, he could not hope to get them all. The Elementals had incredibly fast reflexes. As soon as he started shooting, they would fan out and make it difficult to aim at them all. The grenades would not be much better. The few seconds built into the delayed fuse would permit the men to evade the lethal explosive range. It was not out of concern for his own life that he considered his strategy. There was no way he would survive any attack on these men. Even if he managed to take them all out, he was still a dead man. He could not possibly expect to get off of the base alive, much less off of the planet.

He closed the ammunition box he had just filled and pulled another empty box to himself. Taking another belt in hand, he looked up at the team. They were just starting to work out in hand to hand. No one was paying attention to him.

It was Minh that was the crux of the matter. The former officer knew his duty to the combine. He had been her commanding officer. She had violated her oath to defend the combine. It was his duty to correct that violation. On the other hand, he had promised to help these people develop this woman and relieve her of her death wish. In that way, he had given his word as an officer. An officer's word was his honor. An officer's duty was also his honor. For him to keep one honor, he must forsake the other. In all honesty, when he gave his word, that was when he had first committed treason. For him to act at this time, all he would be doing is blotting the stain of treason from his honor.

Blotting? Or masking it with another stain of dishonor by going back on his word?

If he put Minh down first, then the others would not really matter. In fact, it would be a relief for them to eliminate him as well. His sense of dishonor would be moot. He would be dead and it would no longer matter. After all, no one outside of the Wolf Clan knew he was alive and few within the clan cared to know of his existence anyway. He was already dead to the Draconis Combine. That death would only be catching up to him now.

Pausing with the belt in hand, he knew he must follow through. It would only take a few moments to feed the ammunition back into the machine gun. It was a simple enough action. Just load, point, and shoot.

It was a choice between his personal honor and his word. He was already a traitor. Nothing would change that. Killing Minh would not change that. Overseeing Minh's progress was that much more important. If he went back on his word, he would be unprincipled. A traitor was a traitor, but an unprincipled oath breaker was nothing.

Looking down at the belt in his hands, he began carefully placing it into the empty ammo can.

Unknown to all but Keen, Anton had removed the firing pins from all of the weapons. Additionally, the grenades had no fuses. Anton had wanted to put the new tech to the test. After all of the trouble Minh had put them through, he had not really trusted this man that hailed from the same foreign culture.

Once Nagatake had finished storing the equipment, he sat back in the shade and watch Minh work out against the Elementals. It seemed strange to see them dressed in two piece field fatigues, the shirts being worn untucked like jackets. Usually, they wore jump suits. For the field exercise, Minh had braided her hair and fastened the end with a strip of cloth that matched the uniform camouflage pattern. As such, it made a shorter ponytail than if she had tied it off straight.

The Elementals circled around the woman as each one took an opportunity to attack. To her credit, Minh did not wait for them to come to her. No sooner had she fended off one of them when she turned and directed an attack of her own. Nagatake began to see a pattern. Only four of the men were actively facing off against her. Batiste kept circling toward her blind side as he kept clear of the activity. Nagatake found the tactic curious, to say the least. If he did not know better, he would think that Batiste was letting the other Elementals wear the small woman down. That was hardly fair play. More importantly, it was an insult to an Elemental to face an opponent that was at less than optimal strength. Of course, Nagatake had discovered that if a warrior did not respect an opponent, then that adversary's state of combat ability was of no concern. He did not understand what was happening here. After all, Minh had earned these men's grudging respect. Along the way, she had lost it but now she had regained it. What it looked like was that Batiste was getting ready to take shameful advantage of Minh. She was not very large to begin with and they would soon have worn her down.

At first, he thought she was being overwhelmed. It took a great deal of concentration to deal with multiple opponents. Being much smaller than the men she faced, her advantage was in the speed of her reflexes. That was not enough for her to avoid all the attacks being directed at her, but she could not expect to escape unscathed. Her delicate frame could not stand up to the punishing blows the Elementals could deliver. Perhaps she would have been better off if matched against conventionally sized individuals, but not against these men. These men practiced for keeps at the risk of their lives, a training concept that Nagatake did not approve of at all. It was all part of the selection process. The less able and unlucky were weeded out. The fortunes of warfare had as much an effect as actual skill in the craft of war. It did not matter of the warriors facing each other were friends. It was the clan way to seek victory over all else.

Minh understood that and she was trying to give back the same effort. She would spin away from a kicking attack, letting the strike roll off as she turned. She fended off an overhead strike by diverting it along the length of her forearm. As she charged at Anton, the Elemental swung at her. His fist connected with her shoulder with a painful smacking sound, but she collapsed beneath it and rolled away to lessen the impact, yielding to the force rather than resisting it. Regaining her feet again, she head butted Keller in the stomach. It was a surprise move that was more fortuitous than contrived. Keller just happened to be there when she sprang up. The minutes passed. Nagatake was astounded the Minh could keep moving for so long. Her face glowed with perspiration and she was not as energetic as she had been when the session began. It was obvious that she had noticed Batiste's nonparticipation. She was trying to keep him in view, if not directly in front, then peripherally.

All the while, she maneuvered to keep the men off balance. Being the only target, she was able to move in a manner inconvenient to her opponents. More often than not, an Elemental would have to hold back his attack to keep from striking another. Despite their caution, some attacks connected with the wrong individual anyway. Rather than being crowded in, Minh had plenty of room to move, even though the Elementals did not wish to permit her even that much. They kept up the pressure, enclosing her with their own tactics. Darting past one of them forced the rest to fold the twisting formation back around to keep Minh contained among them. It was all she could do to keep all of them in view as she spun around.

Keen stepped in as the girl turned away, his hand slicing edgewise toward her head. Catching his movement out of the corner of her eye, Minh ducked and mirrored his attack against him. Being much shorter, she drove her elbow into the side of his thigh. She cried out breathlessly as she rebounded. Keen favored his leg, but gave no other sign that he had been adversely affected. As for Minh, she was tiring quickly now. Her breath sounded harsh. Her movements were no longer smooth, but jerky as she forced herself to keep going. Nagatake wondered when this would stop. She could not last much longer.

Nagatake was reminded of her fight with the tech outside of the barracks months ago. That time, she had virtually exhausted her opponent as he expended his energy fending off her attacks. She had not even gotten out of breath. Now she was the one being exhausted. She lacked the physical reserves that maintained the monumental Elementals.

It was at that moment that it happened. Keller and Wendal were in front of Minh. Nagatake could see her between them. Batiste was directly behind her. He flashed a hand signal and the two Elementals backed away. Nagatake saw Minh's eyes narrow at the two men's evasive action. He expected the woman to turn to meet the threat as Batiste charged into the circle, his feet hitting the ground lightly so as to be silent.

No, it should not have happened. With her own breath loud in her ears, she could not possibly have heard his advance. Minh backed into his attack and, raising her hands over her head, somehow seized his forearm as he began to strike. She pulled his arm sharply downward. Batiste had five times the weight on Minh, but she had managed to use his own momentum against him. By stepping into him, she had made the large man overextend himself over her. Nagatake wondered how she had managed to grab hold of him without seeing him first.

For a split second in time, Nagatake tried to analyze the tactic. Did Batiste's shadow betray his exact location? No, that was impossible. Nagatake was in the shadow of the truck. With Minh facing in his direction, her shadow was placed behind her, as was Batiste's. When Keller and Wendal moved out of the way, they had only clued Minh to an impending threat. They had not revealed how Batiste would attack nor how she should defend herself. With her exhaustion, she did not have time for conscious thought. Her mind and body were preforming on an instinctive level.

Batiste slammed down onto the dirt with a resounding thump that raised a cloud of dust. Minh stood frozen over him, her legs flexed one before the other and her arms still extended before her. She stared down at the stunned Elemental, disbelief in her expression. She had subconsciously followed through on her defense, but she had yet to come to grip with what she had done. The other Elementals also paused, clearly astonished by the tableau before them.

No one moved for several moments, then Minh's eyes fluttered and she folded sideways. She hit the ground and lay motionless. Nagatake was on his feet before he realized what he was doing. By the time he reached her, Batiste had raised himself into a sitting posture. The other Elementals had closed in. Keen knelt over Minh and gently rolled her onto her back.

"Her head hit hard," Wental stated with concern.

"It does not seem to have hurt the ground," Anton observed.

Bending over her, Keen began unbuttoning Minh's uniform shirt. The undershirt beneath it was damp with her sweat. In addition to being physically depleated, she was overheated as well. Her skin was flushed as her lungs labored to pull in air. Unfastening the last button, he opened up her shirt.

Minh suddenly spoke out in a plaintive voice. Nagatake did not understand what she said. He assumed that she was speaking Vietnamese. Started, Keen straightened up, releasing her. Minh opened her eyes and stared up at the men looking down at her. She was disoriented, not looking specifically at anyone. Groggy, she supported herself up on her elbows. When Keen reached down to hold her shoulder, she focused on him and seemed to snap out of her confusion. Then she looked down at her open shirt.

She cried out suddenly in outrage. Kicking one foot against Keen's shin, she swung her other leg upward and used it to propel her body in a backwards somersault, dropping from her elbows as she did so. Rolling over her shoulder, she regained her feet. Clutching her shirt closed with one hand, she pointed at the Elementals with the other as she launched into a tirade. Although she was shrieking in Vietnamese, it was clear from her body language why she was upset. She was convinced she had caught them in the act of undressing her. Her eyes wide, she assailed each one in turn, heedless to the fact that any of them could break her like a twig if so provoked.

For the first time, Nagatake did not see Minh as one of his former soldiers. He saw her instead as a woman. A woman defending herself much like a typical combine female would have upon finding herself in a compromising affair not of her choosing. He was oddly pleased by her reaction.

As suddenly as she started, she cut herself off as she swayed on her feet, her face flushed with effort. The wild look in her eyes faded as a semblance of her customary composure returned. Anton turned to Nagatake, clearly looking for a translation. Nagatake shrugged his ignorance. Apparently these Elementals had not heard enough of Minh's native languages to know the difference between Japanese and Vietnamese. If she had been speaking Japanese, he would have been able to tell them what she was saying. That is, if he had the nerve. Catching his shrug, Minh glared at him. For a moment, he thought she would yell at him as well. Instead, she turned and walked around, moving her arms and legs to keep the muscles loose. She was still unsteady, but she did not need any ambulatory assistance. Stopping a short distance from the men, she faced the forested trail for a moment. She took a deep shuddering breath, then looked over her should at them. She further astounded them again when she spoke up in a shy tone.

"I meant that in a good way."

With that, Minh returned her attention to the forest. She was clearly embarrassed by her loss of self control. The warriors were silent, unable to contemplate what she could possibly have said in the heat of anger that could be 'good'. She was a very strange person.

Keen had gone to the truck and took out a canteen and a field ration bar. He knew the young woman needed to replenish the energy she exerted during their training match. He approached Minh from behind and touched the side of her shoulder with the canteen. Startled, she reached for his wrist and pivoted around. What she intended to do after that was moot, for she suddenly stopped when she noticed the canteen in his grasp. Releasing him, she stepped away and respectfully bowed to him.

"Thank you," she said.

It was not the clan way to prostrate one's self. This was a cultural reflex that Nagatake shared with the bondswoman. This further convinced him that he could save her from the destructive path the clans seemed determined to take. By saving her, he hoped to be in a position to serve his homeland as well.

"You are welcome," Keen replied, proffering the canteen again. Minh accepted it and took a quick swig. He handed her the ration bar and watched as she bit off a small portion. She was shaky, but he was more concerned from the fall she had taken. Her eyes were not glassy and she seemed to be fully cognizant of her surroundings. When she had collapsed, he was afraid her heart had burst from overexertion.

The other Elementals spoke among themselves in speculation.

"I have never seen her react like that before."

"Unless you remember that time she slapped Keen."

"She definitely wanted a piece of us."

"An endorphin rush from that workout we gave her."

"I do not understand why she was upset. It is not like she has never been undressed in our presence."

"I think it was because she had never been undressed by one of us before."

Minh had finished only a portion of the bar before Keen gestured for her to get into the back of the truck.

"We will drop you off at the infirmary," he said. "I want them to check your head. You hit pretty hard."

Still chewing, Minh could only nod in reply. Seating herself on the flat bed of the truck, she watched a platoon of conventional troops arrive for their run on the nature trail. She only eyed them with mild curiosity when one of them seemed to stand out. One of the women looked Asiatic with long black hair, the bangs cut even just above her eyes. She looked surprisingly like Consuela, Minh's longtime best friend from back home. Certainly that woman could not be her, could she? Minh could not get much more than a distant look at her before Nagatake drove the Elemental point away.

Francen paid scant attention to the truck as she took charge of her squad. As the platoon split up, she led her team in their stretching exercises.

When Minh entered the infirmary, Doc was treating a man she had never seen before. Katya was still on light duty, whom Doc first thought Minh was there to visit.

"A bit early in the day for you to be here," he commented, barely taking his attention from his patient.

"I am here for a check out."

"Check up," Doc corrected patiently.

"No, check out. I fell and need to be checked out."

Doc looked at her for the first time. He noticed the dirt on her face and forearms as well as her open uniform shirt. Still occupied, he sent Katya to get another doctor.

"Sit down," the new doctor, a woman, directed Minh to a nearby stool. She turned back to Katya. "Get me her record."

Minh settled herself down, surprised for a couple of reasons. First, she had never seen a female doctor in the clan before. For another, she did not realize that anyone could have possibly taken the time to make up a record for her.

"I am not a warrior," Minh waved her wrist, showing the bond cord.

The doctor looked at Minh in an unusual manner at Katya returned with the record. The physician placed it in a data reader and looked it over. She frowned, looking at the bondswoman from time to time as she read. Her forearm where the lash burns had left faint marks. The pale scar on her throat. Her eye, now unblemished after so long. Minh tried not to fidget under the scrutiny.

"What seems to be the problem this time?"

"I think I hit my head."

"'Think'?"

"I was training when I fell down, but I do not remember it."

"Really?" the doctor's analytical tone seemed judgmental. She leaned forward and looked into Minh's eyes. "Mentally alert, no sign of concussion. Where does it hurt?"

"I do not hurt," Minh said. That was not quite accurate. She assumed the doctor was inquiring about head trauma. Her head did not have pain. It was her body that had the aches, which was not unusual for the training in which she had been engaged and thus not really worth remarking on.

"You fell? Did you trip or were you knocked down?" Katya asked. The doctor looked annoyed at the assistant's interjection.

"I fell down," Minh replied. "At least, I think so."

"You do not know?" the doctor asked. She placed her hands on Minh's head and lightly felt around with her fingertips. There did not seem to be any bumps from head injury.

"I seem to remember them coming at me, one after the other," Minh's eyes lost their focus as she turned to her memory. "I was blocking and dodging them."

The doctor nodded, encouraging Minh to continue.

"Then Batiste came at me from behind."

"That was when you fell?"

"No, I threw him over my shoulder," Minh shook her head. "I fell after that."

"Batiste?" Katya asked, incredulous.

"Batiste."

"The Elemental? That Batiste?"

"He is the only Batiste I know."

"You took on five Elementals?'

Doc and his patient stared at Minh. Given the woman's small size, it was highly improbable that she could possibly throw a massive opponent like an Elemental, much less face five of them at once.

"They were wise to send you here," the doctor said, agreeing with their unspoken assessment. She turned to Doc. "This girl shows signs of dementia."

"I am not demented!" Minh snapped, leaping to her feet. "You do not know me!" She suddenly bullied into the seated doctor. Being that her stool was mounted on wheels, the doctor was propelled backward.

"Minh! No!" Katya quickly interceded, placing herself between the two of them. "That is not what she means!"

"I am not a strange pervert!" Minh insisted.

Katya slowly placed her hands on the smaller woman's shoulders. When there was no reaction, she coaxed her carefully back. Minh allowed Katya to gently press her away. The taller woman could not hope to stop her if she were really determined to go through her.

"Well, maybe strange," Katya smiled, returning the bondswoman to her seat. "But you are a decent person."

"I am myself. She does not know who I am."

The doctor was still recovering from the surprise of the sudden assault. She had heard of this trouble-making bondswoman, but this was the first time she had seen her. This hostile introduction was more than she cared to endure.

"When you threw Batiste, was that when they beat you up?" Katya asked, hoping to change the subject. She had seen a bruise at the side of her neck, which prompted her query. Minh shook her head in denial.

Scooting her chair back to them, the doctor cautiously pulled Minh's collar away and looked into the undershirt beneath her uniform shirt. There was more than that one bruise, a fact that she was about to comment on when she looked up. Being face to face with the bondswoman, she could almost feel the heat from her blushing cheeks. Minh's dark sloe eyes coldly relayed her displeasure at the familiarity.

The doctor rose and stepped away, not wishing to be within arms reach of the bondswoman should the girl take issue again.

"She is unduly sensitive. I am concerned about her emotional balance," she announced. "Given the physical evidence on her body that I have seen so far, I do not think it is unreasonable to suspect head trauma as well. I want her to remain here overnight for observation."

"I cannot stay here!" Minh protested. "I have watch tonight." It was not so much her watch in the barracks that she was concerned about, but on the activity prior to the watch. The other watchstanders would catch a couple quick hands of poker before they assumed their duties. They had been permitting her to watch them play. The rules seemed simple enough...

"Not tonight. Get washed up. I will see you afterwards," the doctor prescribed, then turned to Katya. "Get pajamas for her. Stay with her until I see her again. I don't want her fainting in the shower and cracking her head on the tile."

Katya arrived just as Minh was undressing. That is, she would have been undressing had she not stopped. Clad only in uniform trousers, she was staring into the mirror. Her unbraided hair hung before her bare chest in a wavy shroud. Katya could not help but notice the additional bruises on her back. She gasped. Minh looked over her shoulder at her, noticing the other woman's interest in her body.

"We play rough."

'_We' indeed!_ Katya thought, observing how Minh identified herself with the Elementals.

"At least your black eye is gone. That horrid woman," Katya muttered. Minh looked at Katya's reflection. 'That horrid woman' could only be Salen. She was referencing the time the star commander had brought Minh to the infirmary to get treatment.

"She did not do that to me."

"You do not have to lie for her!"

From anyone else, an accusation of dishonesty would have fired up Minh's anger in a heartbeat. Coming from Katya, especially with such affectionate concern, Minh could only feel appreciative of the support.

"No, it was not her. It was not anyone," Minh played with her hair uneasily. She did not want to admit what really happened, but she could not let false blame be laid at anyone's feet. Even Salen's. Her eyes flicked back to her own reflection.

"Don't tell me you did not to yourself!"

"I ran into a tree," Minh nodded, visibly uncomfortable at the admission.

"How could you run into a tree?"

"It was dark. I had my eyes closed."

"But, that's so stupid!"

Minh could not help but laugh at Katya's incredulous tone. Her friend sounded just like Anton.

"Katya-," Minh stopped herself, her voice betraying her uncertainty. She continued to play with her hair, wrapping a strand around her index finger. She was still looking into the mirror, viewing not herself but back to her friend once more. "I wish a favor."

Katya considered the bondswoman's shy demeanor. In all the time she had known her, Minh had never asked for anything. For her to make such a request now, it had to be very important.

"Anything," Katya agreed cautiously. "As long as it will not cause trouble."

Minh looked searchingly at her, as if gauging the response. Katya wondered if she had erred in stating a restriction in her agreement. Minh's slow smile made her doubly concerned.

"No, no, no," she replied. "No trouble. Before I shower, I want you to cut my hair the way it was before." She pointed at the side of her head at chin level.

"Is that all?" Katya saw a hurt look come into Minh's expression at her astonishment. It was obvious that the young woman regretted making her request.

_It must really be unworthy of consideration_, Minh thought, looking back at her own reflection.

"Your hair is so beautiful!" Katya argued.

"It is just curly because of the braids it was in," Minh dismissed the compliment. _My hair is too coarse to be beautiful,_ she thought critically.

"Why do you want to cut your hair?"

"My hair is a hassle," Minh countered. "It is too long and it gets in the way. It gives my sparring partners on extra handhold unless I pin it in place."

"Why did you let it grow out if it is so inconvenient?"

"I fell out of the habit."

Katya thought about that. The bondswoman had been meticulous in her grooming on the ship, carefully cutting it on a regular basis. After coming down to Strana Mechty, that changed. Thinking back, she guessed that it was the difference in routine. Distracted by new activities, Minh had stopped cutting her hair.

The girl murmured something else, but Katya missed it.

"What?"

"I would have trimmed my hair in the barracks, but I misplaced my kit."

Katya thought there was more to the story than carelessness, but she did not have the heart to pry. Minh had come to her for help and she did not wish to turn her away. On the other hand, she did not want to cut her hair, neither. However, if she did not, the girl would probably get a knife from the armory and hack at it herself. Katya smiled at the disheveled image that came to mind as she nodded to Minh.

"Ask Doc for the scissors. He knows which ones I need," Minh directed, recalling the time she had used them without permission. _This time, I have asked._

xxXxxxXxx

Minh was alone with her thoughts in the shower. The spray sluiced the stray strands of cut hair from her figure. She gloried in the ease in which she could wash her hair once more. No more long locks tangling her fingers. Her head seemed to feel lighter. However, the satisfaction did little to alleviate her self doubt.

In her own mind, she had not passed the previous test. She had quit. It was only by sheer chance that she had successfully completed it. This upcoming test would make or break her in more ways than one. The Elementals had accomplished much, increasing her skills and self-confidence. That would not matter if her heart were not fully committed to her efforts. These people did not know of her doubts. She had hidden them well, not even discussing what had happened to her on the test. There was no one for her to talk to about it. Katya was closest to her, but she lacked the warrior mind set. She did not appreciate what Minh was trying to do. After all, both she and Nagatake disapproved of her training. Support from them would lead to further dissatisfaction. It had not escaped her notice that Nagatake was trying to guide her away from the path she was trying to take among Clan Wolf. She could not speak to the Elementals about her uncertainty. They would not understand her mental weakness. They would see it as a fundamental flaw of someone of her small size; that being the knowledge that she lacked the standard build to follow through. Substandard individuals had no place in the clans. Once they saw through the facade of confidence in which she tried to veil herself, Minh would be discarded as unworthy and undesirable.

She had only herself. Would that be enough?

xxXxxxXxx

After her shower, she found pajamas that she had been issued to be too large. She commented on it, hinting that AeroSpace pilot clothing would fit her better. The infirmary did not have AeroSpace pilot sized pajamas. The pilots had their own hospital facility at their landing field. Minh decided that was logical, having a facility close by in case of accidents. It also explained why she had not seen any AeroSpace pilots since landing on Strana Mechty those months ago.

The doctor had talked with Doc once his patient had left. After examining Minh again, she gave the small woman a glass of electrolytes. The girl did not like the bitter liquid, commenting that the fluid replacement drinks normally tasted good when one was in a state of dehydration.

The doctor directed Katya to show Minh to her bed. She busied herself, preparing a bowl of hot cereal. As Katya proceeded to do her bidding, she wondered why the doctor would undertake a mundane task. Mixing food for patients was one of the many things that the doctor felt was beneath her personal sense of dignity. It was something that she would normally assign to Katya.

In the meantime, a cook from the warrior galley arrived with supper. The cooks had gotten into the habit of bringing chow for Katya. Now that she was fully ambulatory, she did not require that her meals be brought to her, but the cooks did not mind. It embarrassed her that she continued to receive such service, especially since it was understood that their interest was personal. She did not have the heart to ask them to stop, since they also brought a little extra for the duty staff. After all, the warriors did eat better than the other castes.

As he walked in, he was surprised to see Minh. He offered to bring more food for her, but the doctor countermanded him. She waved at Katya to continue taking Minh way.

"I have already made provision for her."

From the look the doctor gave her, Minh suspected that the provisions would be unsatisfying. When it was handed to her, the bowl gave off faint wisps of steam. The aroma that it emitted was more on the order of an unsavory odor. It seemed almost medicinal. The lumpy texture gave evidence to the fact that the doctor had not used enough water.

Minh slowly ate the mush. Mostly flavorless, it left a bitter aftertaste. She gazed thoughtfully at the bowl as she consumed each spoonful.

_This might be the answer to my interstellar travel problem_, she considered. Before she had finished half of the contents of the bowl, she began to feel a strange detachment. She also noticed that the doctor was watching her in a peculiar manner. The doctor was being rude by staring at her. Mild annoyance piqued her temper.

Emboldened by a sudden lack of inhibition, she began speaking.

"You are being rude."

The doctor raised her eyebrows.

"Minh!" Katya protested. "She is a doctor. She is in charge here."

"In civilized society, it is impolite to stare. Only the ignorant, the uncivilized, and children do not know better."

"Minh!"

"We know who the child is," the doctor said pointedly.

"And we know who is ignorant _and_ uncivilized."

"Minh!" Kayta hissed. She bent low and whispered into her ear. "Please do not do this. She is in a position to do unpleasant things to you. Don't make her mad at you."

"Do not impose your foreign culture on me," the doctor rejoined.

"You could not possibly appreciate my culture," Minh replied archly, ignoring Katya's counsel.

"The example you have been demonstrating so far has given me very little to _appreciate_."

The doctor's composure seemed unnatural. She had too much self confidence. Her quick-witted retorts reminded Minh that doctors were educated people. This person was naturally conversant in her own language, whereas Minh was communicating in her third language. She felt seriously outmatched.

_She wants a demonstration of my culture? So be it._

Minh snapped out in Tieng Viet. The doctor made a face as if she expected something puerile like that. Minh resented that attitude of superiority, saying so in her language.

"Barking at me like a dog will accomplish nothing."

Minh answered with one short sentence. Undecipherable to everyone else in the room, her acerbic tone made it clear the comment was very offensive.

"Dispensing your charm again, I see. Did you mean that in a good way, too?"

Keller had arrived unnoticed to check on Minh. The Elementals had missed seeing her at supper. Having heard the adversarial exchange between the two women, he ascertained that he was correct in his concern. Minh turned to him, the odd tilt of her head emphasizing her unnatural facial expression. Her eyes had difficulty focusing on him. He could see the effort it took her to think about what he had just said.

"Not at all!"

Her brows furrowed as she obviously tried to continue her train of thought. Keller's interruption had distracted her, causing her to slow down. Her attention drifted toward the floor.

She seemed to find her inspiration. Raising her head, she opened her mouth to explain when her eyes fluttered for the second time that day. Without uttering a word, she suddenly fell forward onto her face. Her shoulder hit her half empty bowl and it clattered from the bunk.

Katya and Keller stared at Minh's still form. The doctor's voice broke the resulting silence.

"I did not think her batteries would ever run down."

Keller eyed the doctor unpleasantly. The doctor's knowing manner and Minh's peculiar appearance when he first walked in were clear indications that something was amiss. He stalked over to where Minh lay and bent over her. Gently turning her head, he raised one eyelid and looked into her eye. He could feel her warm breath on his face. A thought occurred to him and he turned his attention to the bowl on the floor. He picked it up and sniffed it.

"She has been drugged," he determined.

"The bondswoman was out of control," the doctor excused her action while emphasizing the superiority of her professional position. "I will not tolerate any more trouble in my dispensary."

"You were the one egging her on," Katya protested, shocked by the doctor's improper use of medicine.

"Shut up! You do as you are told and no more, tech!"

"Minh was sent here for proper medical attention," Keller spoke carefully, disappointment inflecting his voice. The doctor realized that the red-haired Elemental was inferring responsibility on her.

"That little girl came in here claiming to have taken down an Elemental!" the doctor declared.

"Batiste," Keller nodded.

The doctor paled, seeing the bondswoman was actually in good grace with this warrior. It was a possibility that she had not conceived. This was the runaway that she had heard about, the girl that been so incorrigible and was now being punished for her temerity.

"Incredible," Katya breathed.

Keller looked down at the assistant medical technician. He was mildly annoyed by the expression of disbelief, but was appeased by the respect he saw in Katya's expression. The comment had not been made in doubt, but vindication. At the same time, he was aware that the doctor was quickly departing the room. He smiled. For what he had in mind, it would be better for the doctor to be absent.

"You are Katie, her friend, quaff?"

"My name is Katya," she courteously corrected him. "Aff, I am Minh's friend."

"Do you have sleeping quarters in this building?"

Katya nodded.

"Good. This stays between us. Tell no one of this."

Keller's serious tone was enough to compel her obedience. She nodded to him as he turned Minh onto her back. Slipping his powerful arms beneath her shoulders and knees, he lifted her up. As he clutched her close to his chest, Minh gave a satisfied sigh.

_Somehow, Minh knows that she is safe with this man_, Katya thought. To her, Keller appeared to be the typical Elemental warrior. Strong, impervious, and intimidating. Minh's unconscious display of trust brought a trace of a smile to his face.

Minh's small and slender figure seemed incongruous compared to Keller's great size. _This girl defeated one of these Elementals in hand to hand combat?_

She remembered the dark bruises on the girl's flesh.

Katya led them to her cubicle. It was not much more than an office. There was no door, but a curtain covered the doorway. The desk and computer gear had been removed when the room had been converted and replaced with a bed and standing locker.

Keller placed Minh's pajama clad form on the bed, awkwardly holding her with one arm as he pulled the blanket aside and over her. When he turned and walked out, Katya had to step backwards to give him room. He pulled the curtain shut.

"No one is to know she is here."

"Where do I sleep? Someone will realize where she is if I sleep someplace else."

"In your own bed. She does not take up _that_ much room," Keller recalled when she had sought him out that night in the field. Asleep, she had crawled to him seeking the warmth of his body. Her embarrassment the next morning was very memorable.

Katya did not know what to make of the smile on his face.

Later that evening, the doctor returned to the infirmary. Pushing a gurney, she was followed by a warrior wearing a worn brown leather jacket.

"Where is the bondswoman?" she demanded.

"The Elemental took her."

"And you let him?"

Katya was tired of the doctor's high handed manner. She said the first thing that came to mind.

"I am only a tech. I do as I am told."

Katya was almost sorry the moment she said it. The doctor was visibly incensed.

"I will deal with you later."

The doctor's threat did not bother her half as much as the peculiar look the warrior gave her.

No sooner did the two leave before Doc entered the room. It was obvious that he had heard the exchange. Shaking his head, he was clearly unhappy.

"I don't need this in my sick bay," he said. Before Katya could reply, he touched her arm. "You did no wrong. Don't worry about her. You are my tech. She cannot do anything to you without my consent."

His expression of confidence belied the turmoil of concern he really felt. He had recently become aware of the doctor's acquaintance with the warrior Andre. He knew that she had drugged Minh and suspected it might have been for something like this. Her reaction to Minh when the bondswoman had first come in had struck him as unusual. With other patients, the doctor had sent them on their way after giving them a cursory check up. Apart from the dirt, Minh barely had a mark on her worthy of concern. Less actually than those the doctor would normally send away. Keeping Minh for observation was a prudent procedure, but not the doctor's habit.

Out of sight in his office, he had been waiting for the doctor to leave. His intention was to enlist Katya's help in hiding the girl away. He had yet to think up a cover story for her disappearance to give the doctor when Keller arrived and took matters into his own hands.

The massive warrior's awareness of the situation was astute to the point of paranoia.

Almost worthy of Minh at her most reserved.

"I will watch things here," Doc bade her to leave.

Katya nodded, silently accepting his dismissal. She was supposed to spend her evenings in the infirmary, in case someone required emergency attention. It had been a while since she had been able to go off duty before midnight. She went to her cubicle to get a fresh set of clothes to have ready after her shower. It took only a moment, but she paused as she was leaving to watch Minh sleep.

Small and vulnerable, like a child. She knew that the small woman had been jealous of her and Nagatake. The two of them could trace their success to their association with Minh. Jealousy was an expected emotion in such youthful and immature persons. Minh was like a sister to her. She remembered when Minh had run to her after she had been wounded. She had been extremely distraught, weeping in relief that she had not been killed after all. Until then, Katya had not expected Minh held such strong feelings for her. Knowing the cooks fondness for Katya, she had informed them of what had happened. She had an ability to rally friends.

She stroked Minh's hair from her face, wondering about the mother that was missing this girl. Suddenly feeling maternal, she leaned down and hugged the girl's head to her breast. After several moments, she straightened. Minh's hair was disheveled. Katya smoothed it back down to neatness.

Her mind went back to a time nearly three years previous. She had not originally been a member of the clans. A citizen of the Free Rasalhague Republic, she had been in a research outpost doing drudge work. She had hired on with hopes of gaining technological advancement. Her duties included cooking, laundry, and cleaning up after the scientists in their laboratories. After several months, the scientists received more benefit from her work than she seemed to learn from them.

Her employment ended the day the raiders struck. The scientists had been armed with an assortment of pistols, rifles, and one black market short range inferno missile launcher. The raiders, armed with assault weapons, besieged the station in company with a light BattleMech. As a pirate band, that group would not have fared very well in a straight 'Mech battle. Pitting themselves against weak opponents was more to their advantage.

The twenty ton war machine, the lightest in the lightweight class of BattleMechs, was more than enough to crush the prefabricated building beneath it's armored feet. The defenders knew that. The pirate leader negotiated with the scientists. Their single inferno SRM was the only weapon that the pirates feared. A battle with the outpost would most likely destroy the true object of the raiding band, namely food and other consumables. Any equipment the scientists had on hand could be used for repairs, sold, or traded.

The scientists accepted the pirate leader's promise of leniency. A false promise. The men were executed and the women were taken prisoner. That was when Katya met Vera. Vera served the pirates as a jailor, keeping the women in custody. Keeping the women available for trade. And worse.

It had become a hard life for Katya. For over a year, she stopped thinking of herself as a human being. She was a thing to be used and abused at he will of others. She ingratiated herself to Vera, trying to be helpful with the hope of any small mercy. In time, she had become Vera's personal lackey. Through her association, she had come to learn what a despicable person Vera really was. With that realization came personal loathing for herself. It had been her choice to ally with that selfish bully.

The pirate home base was way out in the middle of nowhere, safe from civilized patrols and the roaming of other pirates. It was therefor a surprise when the clans arrived from the direction of unknown space. The pirate band was destroyed nearly to the last man. They expected no mercy and the forces of Clan Wolf offered none. The few surviving pirates and their captives were taken as spoils of battle.

There had been little change in Katya's life as a clan bondswoman. The warriors and other castes had very little to do with those in bond, except when using them for menial duties. The only mercy was that the completely brutal pirates had not survived to continue their cruel control in the tiny community. That was not to say that others did not take their place. Vera managed to keep her position of dominance over the other women through sheer viciousness.

That was how Katya had come to be in the company of Vera when Minh had been released from solitary confinement.

Katya shook herself from the dark unpleasant thoughts. Still haunted by that ghost of memory, she looked forward to a time when it would finally fade away.

xxXxxxXxx

Katya had wanted to speak to Minh the following morning. It was her intention to discuss Keen's alleged infidelity, or rather, about the false testimony. She had the second hand information from the cook concerning Salen's confession. She also knew of the Elemental's feelings, having seen his helpless reaction when Minh wept at Katya's infirmary bedside.

Instead, upon attempting to wake the small woman, she received an unpleasant shock. She found her wrist in a painfully tight lock. Minh said something curt in her language, her half-open eyes blind with sleep. In the space of a moment, the girl collapsed back down. Katya gingerly pulled herself free from her relaxing grasp. The sudden reaction from the peacefully slumbering Minh was unexpected.

When Keen arrived in the infirmary, Katya was understandably reticent. Keller had told her not to tell anyone about Minh, yet Keen was the bondholder. That Keen seemed to know that Katya was concealing Minh was evidence that Keller had already told him. She led the Elemental to her cubicle, passing another curious med tech.

Katya opened the curtain, but Keen did not enter. He looked at the sleeping woman for a moment. From where he stood, he could not touch her, but he was well outside of her reach as well.

"Minh," his deep voice was not loud, but it seemed to resonate in the small room. The girl inhaled, then she quickly sat up. Her eyes were bright as she greeted her visitors with a smile. If she was puzzled by being in Katya's bed, she gave no sign.

_This is not the girl that passed out last night_, Katya noted. It was as if she had slept away the sour mood she had been in the previous evening.

"We are going now. Where are your clothes?"

Minh brought her hand up to her face and touched a finger to her lips thoughtfully. She shrugged.

"I took them off in the shower."

"The doctor took them to get cleaned," Katya's voice trailed off as she considered what she had said.

"I doubt the laundry cleans boots," Minh pursed her lips in vexation, then she kicked her feet free from the sheets and shifted herself onto the side of the bed. She looked at Katya. "See if my boots are still around here someplace, if you would. I really do not want to have to break in a new pair. While you do that, I will take a shower."

Before Katya could respond, Keen spoke.

"No, Minh."

"I need to shower," the bondswoman insisted, petulance in her voice.

"You had a shower last night," Katya reminded her.

"I have been sleeping since then," Minh said, as if that explained everything.

"Are you telling me my bed is dirty?" Katya asked in a careful tone.

Minh's cheek twitched as if rebuked, then her expression became stonelike. She had not meant to insult her friend. Her face blanched. Unprepared for such a conversation, her cultural upbringing took control. Leaning forward, her nose almost touching her knees, she apologized breathlessly.

"Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai! Sumimasen!"

"I was kidding!" Katya helped Minh to sit back up. "I did not mean to upset you."

"I am not upset," Minh declared unconvincingly. "Cleanliness is very important."

"We are leaving now," Keen took back control of the situation. "You can look for your boots on the way out."

Minh looked down at herself. She plucked at her pajama shirt.

"We will stop at your barracks for coveralls," Keen said.

"Good. I can get my shower there."

Katya shook her head. The girl certainly was single-minded.

"I do not have time for your indulgence."

Minh said nothing. She turned her face upward and met Keen eye to eye. It was the classic battle of wills.

"Stop that, Minh. You will get hit for insolence," Katya protested.

"Keen hits hard," Minh replied, not looking away from the Elemental.

Katya looked up to see how Keen would respond. One side of his face lifted in a smirk. She looked back at Minh and saw that she was smirking too.

"I thought you were serious," she said.

"I am."

"She is."

Their responses were simultaneous. Katya felt the nervous impulse to laugh, but dared not. She did not wish to cause insult to the Elemental. Not knowing how to bring the impasse to an end, she remained silent. Surprisingly, Keen proved to be quite amenable to compromise.

"You may use the shower in my quarters at lunch," he offered.

Minh cocked her head sideways as she mulled it over.

"You can use the hot air dryer as long as you like. All afternoon, if you wish."

Katya had never imagined an Elemental trying placate anyone.

"Ah," Minh's lips curled into a smile as she acquiesced to his generosity. "We go now."

She slipped from the bed and walked through the doorway. As she passed Keen, he reached down and gently flicked her hair up where it had been cut. To Katya, it was merely an acknowledgment that he had noticed the hair trim. He could not see the delight fade from Minh's dark eyes, but the med tech could. Noticing Katya looking at her, she diverted her attention toward the floor and refused to look back at her. It was evident that the personal issue between these two individuals was unresolved.

Yes, Katya wished she had taken the opportunity to speak to Minh about the misunderstanding concerning Keen.

xxXxxxXxx

Minh had been unable to find her boots on her way out of the infirmary. True to her agreement with Keen, she had intended to stop in her barracks just long enough to change clothes. Keen followed her into the bunk room. Unable to stop him, she gave the obligatory warning that a man was in the room. With breakfast due to end soon, there were still some women trying to catch a few minutes more of sleep their bunks. Others were still in the process of dressing. Most moved to the other side of their bunks to finish, but Fal remained in plain sight. She continued to dress in a casual manner as she eyed the interloping Elemental in defiance.

Minh went to her bunk and pulled out a set of coveralls from the locker at the end. Keen stood over her, his arms folded across his chest. She quickly shucked off the pajamas and pulled the jumpsuit on.

"I thought better than that of you, Minh," one of the occupants muttered from under her blanket. "Bringing a guy in here."

"A pretty good specimen I have to admit, though!" someone else called from across the room.

Sitting down on the floor, she was tying her shoes. She looked up at Keen with a scandalized expression.

"He is just making sure I do not take a shower," she said defensively.

"Good. That leaves hot water for the rest of us."

_Everyone is a critic_, she thought, seeing the amusement in Keen's eyes.

"I'm glad you're okay," Fal said as she walked by. She pointed at the crumpled hospital pajamas on the floor in response to Minh's quizzical glance. With his back to the dour bondswoman, he did not see the disapproving look she gave him.

"It is not like that," Minh did not want Fal to think he was responsible for her hospitalization.

"It never is," Fal did not turn her head as she walked out of the room.

Keen looked at Fal curiously.

xxXxxxXxx

"How long is she going to take?" Salen demanded.

Keen sat working at his computer console. Keeping himself busy, his ears tuned out the hot air blowing in the next room. He knew Minh would take full advantage of the dryer. She was entitled to a day off from her training. If this was how she chose to rest, he would indulge her.

The reason he wished to indulge her was something he could not explain.

"She will take all the time she wishes," he answered.

"I do not have that much time," Salen declared. "I am going to-."

"Sit down," Keen finished for her.

"Do not order me," Salen seethed, reminding him that she outranked him.

"You are a guest in my room. I would expect a MechWarrior to have a better grasp of manners than you have exercised thus far."

"She did know about lunch, quaff?" Salen tried not to let the rebuff bother her.

"Every day."

That indifferent answer was what Salen would expect from Elementals. That was not what she had been asking and she was certain Keen knew it. The blower in the next room stopped.

"Maybe she is through now," Salen said hopefully. She listened for a moment. The blower kicked on again and she threw her arms up in exasperation. "How can she keep doing that? Does she not know we are waiting on her to eat?"

"You are free to go without us," Keen spoke as his fingers tapped nimbly on the computer keyboard.

"You did not tell her."

"She did not ask."

"This is ridiculous! How long can she keep doing that?"

"Minh has a refined appreciation for simple pleasures."

"'Refined'?" Salen snorted. "The girl is doing this to annoy me."

"'The girl' does not know you are here."

"Andre was looking for her last night," Salen changed the subject, carefully watching Keen for his reaction. "She was not here, by any chance?"

"Not here."

"There was some talk that she had disappeared from the infirmary last night."

"I heard something like that."

"Then you are not aware of where she spent the night?"

Keen did not answer. He typed on the keyboard as if oblivious to her query.

_He is being obtuse. He knows something. If only I could beat it out of him_.

The blower stopped. The only sound was from the tapping keyboard. A few minutes later, Minh stepped out of the wash room. She was visibly startled by Salen's presence.

"Where were you last night?"

Minh noticed that Keen seemed to be ignoring the star commander. For some reason her whereabouts were of concern. If Keen was choosing not to satisfy the contentious star commander's curiosity, then Minh was certainly under no such compunction.

"I went to the infirmary."

"I know that. Where did you go after that?"

"The doctor drugged me. I do not know how I left there," Minh shrugged, then she fluffed her hair from one side of her face. A few damp strands still clung to her cheek.

"How can your hair still be wet? You spent over an hour under the dryer!" Salen stared at her.

"I was thirsty."

"You drank out of the sink?"

"The shower spray is too difficult," Minh's apparent sensibility clashed with Salen's revulsion.

Keen's chair creaked under his weight as he swivelled around to look at Minh. The flush on her cheeks gave him some concern. The extended time spent beneath the air dryer had overheated her.

"Star Commander Salen has invited us to dine."

_He says that like we are a romantic couple_, Minh thought. _What does Salen want with me? We are not friends_. She looked from one warrior to the other.

Salen looked at the dirty coveralls Minh held gingerly in one hand.

"Is that grease? What were you rolling around in to get so oily?" Salen demanded.

"I was in the recycling yard this morning."

"What could you possibly want from there?"

"I was looking for motorcycles. I figured I could find some there. The motor pool does not have them. They have no provision for them in the parts bin," Minh shrugged. "Motorcycle parts are not exactly interchangeable with OmniMechs and Trucks."

"That is how you got so dirty?"

"I had to move a lot of junk piles to see inside."

"You are still looking for a belt?"

"Aff."

Minh's tone made it clear that she had expected Salen to remember that little detail. Salen was about to respond when Keen suddenly threw his arms up and apart in a stretch. Both women started at the deceptively violent but innocent motion.

"I am ready to eat now," he pointed at Minh's bundled coveralls. "Leave that here. You can get it later."

xxXxxxXxx

Advanced Infantry Tactical Training School, Luthien

Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine

10 August 3051

Huy viewed the hologram from Tai. It was late in the evening. Most of the company were out of the barracks, taking advantage of the overnight pass. He had gotten the message chip earlier in the day. The message been included with recordings from his mother, father, and some friends from the farm. The friends were like family. He had watched most of the messages right after Gunso Gomez handed the chips out to the company at mail call. He had a personal viewer he kept in his locker. A simple device, he could not record messages on it. He still had to go to the holo booths to send replies.

He had waited for the company to leave on pass before watching the message from Tai. His arranged marriage was a sensitive subject and he did not wish to get teased about it. Even if it was only in good nature. Tai was still young, much more like a little sister than a fiancee. He did received some ribbing when his mother announced that she would _naturally_ be coming to the Tet celebration on Luthien.

Naturally?

No one _naturally_ traveled from Demeter. The interstellar distances involved were cost prohibitive. No one in Huy's family could afford to travel by JumpShip on a whim. If his family could afford it, then both of his parents would come to Luthien to see him. He could not understand why only one parent would be making the journey.

Naturally.

Huy keyed Tai's message. Tai had never send a holo before, so it took him a moment to recognize the parlor. It was the library in the Nguyen home. The room was empty. Huy did not think about that as he tried to figure out where the holo recorder was situated. He had been in that room many times, but he had never seen a recorder there. The devices were so expensive that he had no reason to suspect the Nguyen's even had one in their possession. From the angle of view, the recorder was positioned in the corner of the room. In the corner he could not see, he recalled that there was an engraved wooden cabinet that stood from floor to ceiling.

_The recorder must be mounted inside the cabinet_, he realized as Tai stepped into the room.

The viewer was sitting flat on the table top. The shimmering image that hovered above the projector was set for optimal viewing, about twenty-five centimeters high with similar width. Unconsciously, he leaned forward at what he saw.

Tai's trim figure was adorned in a richly designed ao dai. The top was dark blue, almost violet in hue. A weaving line of flowers and vine designs were stitched diagonally from one shoulder toward the opposite ankle with reflective thread. Her white pants showed from the split in the front and back panel from hip to floor.

She reached the center of the room and faced directly at the recorder. The device automatically zoomed in on her head and shoulders as the girl waited patiently.

Girl? This was no girl. This was a young woman. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, but the end had been doubled back up and fastened in place with a white ribbon of cloth. The image was simple but elegant, an appearance he had never seen from her.

Her dark eyes seemed to stare out of the hologram directly at him. She had a composure that contrasted with the intensity of her glare. He had seen her angry before. He had joined the army over her protests, after all. The look he saw now filled him with dread. In addition to the sense of impending wrath was a sense of hurt in her expression.

What was wrong? What had happened? Why was Tai upset? Has something happened to her parents? Was their marriage cancelled? Has Tai been promised to another man?

Tai began speaking in Tieng Viet. Huy followed her words, his ears drinking in her voice. He had not heard it ever since he had seen her. Her anger seemed to bring out the beauty in her face. As he listened, he learned that her emotion was not a result of any tragedy on Demeter, but what she perceived of Huy's activity on Luthien.

He vaguely recalled what he had told his parents of his plans for the Tet celebration. He had met a family that operated a restaurant. He would be celebrating with them. The daughter would be making a special dish for him.

The daughter.

Uh oh.

Tai must have seen his message to his parents. Huy lowered his head to his hands on the table and groaned. He almost missed hearing her big news.

Tai wanted to talk to him. In person.

He looked back up at the holo. He could tell she was about to cry, but somehow she was keeping herself together.

She was going to come to Luthien.

That explained his mother's remark. Naturally.

That was how his mother could afford to travel. The Nguyens had a holo recorder. Naturally they could afford to send Tai and his mother to Luthien.

When Huy told his parents about Tet, it was because most of his activities were secretive military matters. He could only think of one neutral subject. It did not occur to him at the time that anyone would object to it. Especially anyone at home. Tai was coming to Luthien because she thought he was seeing someone else. She was coming to Luthien because she was jealous.

At that moment, he realized that he was in love with Tai. The contracted marriage had become more than an obligation that he had agreed to undertake for his family. The strong emotions he was seeing in the hologram brought his own feelings to light. His previous conception regarding Tai was that of a dutiful daughter. He had believed that she was wedding him out of a similar sense of obligation.

He had seen her angry before. That was when she had learned that he had signed up to join the Mustered Soldiery. At the time he thought it was due to her perception that he was being irresponsible to their parents' wishes. If nothing else, it had convinced him that she was a practical person. He had been blind to the possibility that she would possibly have any serious affection for him.

In many marriage arrangements, it was not uncommon for the husband and wife endure a loveless relationship. Love was not necessary to unite the Trans and Nguyens. Huy and Tai would not have to see each other after the wedding. That was, of course, an extreme lifestyle. A cruel life which Huy found he did not have the heart to inflict on Tai. There were things he wanted to do with his life, but abandoning his future wife was not one of them.

The recording ended and the holo image faded away. He closed his eyes in thought.

"You left her for the DCMS? You must really be stupid."

Gomez.

"I thought you were gone," Huy did not turn to look at the sergeant.

"You were acting strangely earlier," Gomez sat down at the table. She had two cans of soft drink, one of which she slid across the table to him. He accepted it without thinking. As he opened it, Gomez reached across the table and turned the holo chip reader around. He thought it was a rude thing for her to do without asking, but he said nothing. She had apparently seen the message. He doubted she understood Vietnamese.

Gomez ran the message, stopping it as Tai was walking into the room.

"Very pretty."

Huy took a sip from the can. His view of the holo was reversed. It was just as coherent as it was before, only the decorative stitching on Tai's ao dai crossed in the opposite direction.

Gomez continued the holo. The recorder zoomed in and Tai spoke again. Huy took another drink.

"You told her about Tu Yet? I would be upset, too."

Huy choked on the soft drink. Bracing one arm on the table, he leaned over the floor in a fit of coughing. _How can Gomez know that?_ he wondered. _I never said a word about Tu Yet to anyone._

"It's not like that," Huy said after he cleared his throat.

"Your girlfriend is coming to Luthien," Gomez said, not hearing him. "She _really_ is upset. You are in trouble, boy."

"How can you tell what she is saying?"

"She said 'Luthien'. She shows every sign of being mad at you. I just put two and two together."

"Where does Tu Yet come into the equation? Tai doesn't even know her name."

"Does she know Tu Yet is married?"

"It would seem you do," Huy looked at Gomez through the holo thoughtfully. "It seems you know a lot. Like Tieng Viet."

"I like the food," Gomez admitted. "Spend enough time someplace and you tend to pick up the language."

Huy was unsatisfied with that answer.

"Troopers talk," Gomez explained, seeing his expression. "I overheard them when they came back from pass one evening, talking about the cute girl you were out with."

Tu Yet was not _that_ cute. She was older than he was.

"I had just eaten at her parent's restaurant. They told me about you."

"They never said a word about you to me," Huy said darkly.

"I have known them for years. I was not the guy taking their daughter out on a date."

"It was not a date," Huy insisted. Gomez shook her head in disbelief. He continued. "Her husband asked me to escort her to the concert."

"Perfectly innocent," Gomez commented.

"Exactly. He could not do it himself. He was one of the musicians performing in the concert," Huy stared at Gomez dubious expression. "If you know Tu Yet, then you should already know that."

Gomez said nothing.

"If you are unconvinced, then how can I get Tai to believe me?"

"Tai is young. She will get over it," Gomez advised.

Huy was uncomfortable by the conversation. He was more accustomed to the gruff and tough Gunso, not this off-duty non-commissioned officer.

Gomez did not fit his mental image of a DEST commando. Undoubtably she had been. She wore an emblem on her uniform tunic pocket attesting to that. It was much like a pilot's wings or a marksmanship badge. That emblem served to advertise her qualifications. Some of the troopers in Huy's company had expressed an interest in signing up.

To be a DEST took serious commitment. The selection process was very demanding. Volunteers were expected to devote themselves fully to the teams. No outside attachments. None of the normal regard that was customarily reserved for their family and friends. No distractions.

Huy knew that he was unsuitable for DEST. It was for love of family that he served. At least, that was why he enlisted. To isolate himself from his family, to steel his heart against them, was something he could not do. He felt he had made a mistake when he impulsively left his family to join the army. He could not get out of his obligation, so he would do the best he could do. It was his choice to survive his choice so he could return to his family.

There was no doubt she could have been an officer. Rumor had it that she refused promotion, even though she now commanded a company.

Sergeants did not normally command companies. Especially not sergeants with DEST qualifications.

In DEST it was uncommon for those of non-Japanese origins to least DEST units. It was said that there were some exceptions to the standard.

Gomez did not fit the stereotype of an elite soldier. Huy would expect such a soldier to be lean and muscular. She was not fat. Neither was she lean. She just seemed to be thicker in stature for someone of her average height. She moved quietly, even outside of the gymnasium. She was surprisingly good sprinter out on the track. Huy could personally attest to her reflexes in martial art practice. So could that other trooper, the one that had really made that offensive comment to her that first day. The comment that Huy had initially been blamed for.

Gomez considered Heishi Tran. The private was bright and tended to keep his head straight. She was concerned that his personal problems would cause him to "get stupid". A moment of inattention, a lapse of judgement by a worrying mind could cause disaster. It could get him killed, or worse, causing the death of a comrade.

She wanted to be sure that Tran was safe to be around. Safe being a relative term. Gomez did not feel safe when others held her life in their hands, especially when the others were newly trained and untried troops.

Every member of the company had the potential to plant Gomez in a grave. Like this kid sitting across the table from her. Well-liked and respected by the other troopers, it would still take only one mistake.

Huy was aware that Gomez was evaluating him. He knew it was because of her survival instinct. He did not like that she was doing it, but he understood why.

What he did not know was why she had left DEST. What could compel someone with the strength of will to refuse promotion to train novice soldiers? Huy was new to military service, but even he understood that senior officers discouraged defiant individualism in their company commanders. Gomez was not typical of the preferred company commander.

She could be doing more than being a sergeant filling a billet until a qualified officer became available. True, other companies were led by non-commissioned officers, but not many of them had been offered captaincy. Those few did not hesitate to assume the rank. Only Gomez had declined the honor.

Huy had wondered at the sergeant's reasons. Such a refusal could bring her patriotism and loyalty under scrutiny. It could even lead to her dismissal from the company and get her sent to a very unpleasant duty assignment.

Gomez could see what he was thinking behind his eyes. By the way he had been looking at her DEST badge, she knew what he wanted to ask her. She interrupted him as he opened his mouth.

"None of your business," she said bluntly. "Don't ask."

The simple truth was that Gomez liked being a sergeant. She was very good at what she did and did not wish to be promoted. The officers of the promotion board had become angry at her refusal, but she calmly explained her position. If she were to choose between a promotion to command a front-line unit or to remain a sergeant in a hell-hole someplace in obscurity, then she would gladly serve in hell for the Draconis Combine.

One of the board members had been a strike team leader over Gomez. He related that she had been the exemplar of what a sergeant was supposed to be. The backbone of a military unit. She had the expertise to build up the troops in her unit as well as the experience to support the junior officers assigned to command those troops. The officer admitted with disarming humor that Gomez had given him guidance when he had been a new officer. It was his opinion that it would be in the best interests of the Dragon for her to continue to serve in her proven capacity. Improving the professional quality of her soldiers and being a mentor to junior officers.

The self effacing sentiment given by Gomez and the testimony provided by her former team officer won the respect of the other board officers. Regarding the honor and privilege of captaincy, the offer was withdrawn with the recommendation that her unit would receive the first available officer when the academies graduated in the following year. It was a left-handed compliment. Even though it was an acknowledgment of her abilities, it also gave the impression that her company was in more need of an officer than the other sergeant-led units.

Being the type of professional sergeant that Gomez was, she was not concerned by that false impression in the least.

"Maybe I should just make a mistake so you can shoot me now." Huy had returned to his original thoughts.

"No point in wasting my ammunition when she will do it for me," Gomez nodded at the holo projector.

"Maybe the company will get shipped out before then."

Until hearing from Tai, Huy had been looking forward to the New Year celebration.


	15. Chapter 13

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Thirteen by D G Palmer/1

Fort Bivouac Warrior Testing Preserve

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

14 August 3051

Minh attended the mission briefing for her warrior test. Unlike the last test, she was permitted substantially more preparation. Additionally, there would be no proctor this time. No one would be overseeing nor judging her effort. The only criteria she needed to meet was to complete the mission. To fail that single criteria would mean complete failure. That would be the end of her life with the warriors.

Her objective in the test was to neutralize an Elemental point. Keen's point, but minus the point commander himself. He was present in the meeting room to ensure that Minh was not given any unfair disadvantage. Thinking about his presence, Minh considered his action to be cold-blooded. After all, her opponents were his men. As their commander, he was responsible for their well being. In performing this duty to oversee her preparation, his impartiality could be considered supportive of her potential success. It could cost him the lives of his men.

What she did not know was that this test was highly irregular. Keen was her bondholder after all. Having his own unit chosen for this test had been a calculated challenge. He could not decline the terms of the test without invalidating his personal conviction. In doing so he would have declared that Minh did not really have the fighting spirit to be a Clan Wolf warrior. Such a public recantation would negate his standing as a leader among warriors.

The message was clear. If he wished this bondswoman to test out as a warrior, then he would have to yield the fee out of his own point.

Star Colonel Quint DeVega had been more succinct in his orders. He would not be satisfied with a mere defeat of the bondswoman. He expected her to kill to prove her worth to the Wolf. By the same token, the Elementals must prove their worth the same way. In either event, at least one of them would not be returning.

She looked at the equipment on the table that was available for her use. Compared to last time she was put to the test, the variety before her was staggering.

There was every single type of weapon she had trained on. Having examined each one, she was satisfied that they were fully functional. Accompanying every sample of weapon was a full box of ammunition. More than enough to zero any firearm she chose. There were several box magazines, empty at present. It would be her responsibility to load them. Conceivably she was permitted to take everything that had been brought to the room. The only limitation was that she had to carry it herself. On the other hand, she could carry an assault rifle and a box of ammo. She would be foolish to attempt that for an extended time. That much weight would tire her out very soon. Making no sign of having chosen a weapon, she went on to peruse through the rest of the equipment.

There was an accurate chart of her assigned operational area. It was corroborated by pictures that had been taken from the air showing the terrain she would be facing. There was also a photograph of her destination. An outcropping that extended into the lake. The photo had been taken before the Elementals took possession of that isolated piece of land. As Minh looked at the picture, she picked up one of the compasses. More than a dozen had been provided for her to choose from. Still thoughtful, she turned her attention to the compass. She turned the liquid-filled case in her hand and saw the needle swivel freely. She put it down and selected another one. This one had a clothespin attached. After making sure it worked, she decided to keep it.

With compass in hand, she proceeded along the table. She contemplated the variety of equipment, frequently looking back at the chart. Oblivious to her onlookers, she picked over the items. Two varieties of parachute with a selection of high altitude protective gear. Blankets. Field cooking supplies. There was also a list of items that would not fit on the tables. On it were a conventional cargo aircraft, a small patrol boat, and a flat-bed cargo truck. Minh thought it was interesting that there was no VSTOL.

Eventually she added a small flashlight with a red lens, a bulky first aid kit in a pouch and two canteens. After attaching the items to a web belt, she looked down at what she had chosen.

Keen watched as the small woman remained motionless, deep in thought. Salen muttered, but he ignored her. He saw Minh look towards the ammunition boxes.

"Finally," Salen gritted as the girl approached the stock of small arms cartridges.

Keen observed Minh as she bowed her head. One hand made a gentle sweeping motion at chest level. It was not the first time he had watched as she subconsciously tried to move her phantom long hair. Earlier in the warrior dining hall for breakfast she had attempted to shield her face from the curiosity of the diners. That uncomfortable response was a sign of her uncertainty. Her newly shortened hair now served to frame her face, rather than conceal.

Minh opened the box of 15mm rounds. Designed to be fired from what could be called a small cannon, this was an extreme choice. Pulling out a canvas bandoleer, she unfolded it and pulled two heavy rounds from one of the pouches. Setting the cartridges down, she opened up the emptied pouch and peered inside.

"What is she thinking?" Salen's quiet outburst spoke for the curiosity of all in the room.

The bondswoman's eyes shifted to the MechWarrior. One side of her mouth quirked. Then she returned her attention to what she was doing. Placing the shiny rounds back in the bandoleer, she replaced them in the box and fastened down the lid.

"Maybe she is looking for something bigger. She will be facing Elementals."

That comment earned her a look from Keen. Unlike the bondswoman, his stony expression did not change.

"Typical Elemental. No sense of humor."

Minh snorted, obviously having been listening to Salen. The MechWarrior looked back to her, a tart remark poised on her lips. Whatever she was going to say remained unsaid as she noticed that Minh had opened the first aid pouch and had emptied it out onto the table.

_First an ammo box, now she is back to the supplies! What is she doing?_

Minh pulled a box of rations toward herself and pulled out a handful of individually wrapped energy bars. Salen could not remain silent as the girl neatly packed the bars in the pouch.

"This is ridiculous! There is a perfectly serviceable rucksack right there!"

Minh stopped what she was doing for a moment, her eyes diverting to Salen. With her hands stopped in mid-task, she stared without speaking. After several heartbeats, she slowly blinked and then resumed packing the pouch as if Salen's outburst had not occurred.

Keen had noticed that Minh's attitude toward Salen had not thawed. During lunch the previous day, she had remained cool and distant to the MechWarrior. Likewise, he did not understand why the Star Commander was trying to make amends. It was uncharacteristic of a clan warrior to seek reconciliation. For that matter, it was equally uncharacteristic for a clan warrior to have any emotional regard. Much like his own personal feelings for the little woman. Those feelings were no longer returned, but her manner was much more congenial to him than the chilly disregard she was giving to Salen.

Minh closed the pouch, her careworn fingers firm and steady. After clipping the pouch to the belt, she placed the belt around her waist and snugged it down to her hips. She then adjusted the pouch, flashlight and canteens so they would not prohibit her movement. Once she was satisfied, she picked up the chart and began to study it again. She had just begun comparing the map to the supplied pictures when she was interrupted.

"You still have not selected your weapon!" Salen exploded in exasperation. "Not even a knife."

Without looking up from the table, her head slowly swivelled until her eyes alighted on the collection of fighting blades. Moving herself along the table, she went to stand by the display. Some to the examples were slim, ideal for stabbing attacks. Others were stout slashing knives. Several were survival knives of heavy duty construction, with hollow handles containing small but useful life saving components.

Minh paused at a survival knife, looking at it for several moments. Her hand tentatively reached for it, then unerringly diverted to the fighting knife beside it. Keen made a noise in his throat.

Salen looked up at him suddenly, surprised by the Elemental's uncommon display of thought. She too had expected the bondswoman to select the survival tool. Despite her peculiar choices, she had been making practical decisions. Distracted by the Elemental, she did not see Minh pick the weapon up and remove the scabbard. She weighed it in her hand, checking the balance thoughtfully. Salen only saw Minh peripherally as the young woman's arm swung sideways.

Salen involuntarily followed the motion, registering the sound of the knife striking the wall with a resounding _thump_! An instant later there was a muffled yell from the other side of the wall. Other than that, no one said a word. Not until Minh broke the silence.

"No," she declared. "No knife."

Salen opened her mouth to give vent to her opinion when a warrior entered the room.

"There is a knife sticking out of my wall!" he complained warily. Seeing a table covered with weapons, he quickly checked to see if anyone was armed. No one was thus equipped, but the closest person to the table was Minh. He took a second look at the gathering around the young woman.

"I should have known," he shook his head as he walked to the wall and pulled the knife from the wall. The force of the throw had driven it all the way in to its hilt. Gray plaster dusted from the hole as the blade was withdrawn. "You seem not to have any use for this, so I will take this for a coat rack."

He saw the amusement in the bondwoman's dark eyes. Amusement and recognition. The warrior had been the leader of the opposition force when she had last tested. The two of them had raced each other to the extraction point. Only sheer personal drive and aggression had won the day for her.

"Hi, Minh," he greeted her and she nodded congenially back to him.

"You could have said 'no' to begin with," Salen continued her train of thought as he went back out the door.

"I believe Minh made her point," Keen observed.

Minh had returned to her study materials, thus not watching the other activity in the room. Salen looked first at the knife hole in the wall, then to Keen.

"Humor from an Elemental? Where did that sense of humor come from?" Salen asked rhetorically.

Minh could not help but hear that comment. The MechWarrior had spent enough time to know that Elementals were not devoid of humor. She bit back her own desire to correct Salen's facetiousness, reflecting that it may have been an attempt at humor by the MechWarrior.

Francen looked up when her company commander returned to his office. Seeing the fighting knife in his hand, her eyes flicked up to the hole in the wall. The commander chuckled at her expression.

"It was Minh," he looked around his office. "I am going to mount this in here someplace."

"I do not understand you," Francen returned her attention to organizing her platoon's duty roster.

xxxXxxXxxx

Minh waited for the sound of the truck to fade away into the distance. Alone in the grove, she could see nothing but trees. Trees and the road that cut a path through them. Minh had purposely chosen this disembarkation spot. Not only was she concealed from the commanding view of the promontory, but by her reckoning it would take her over two days to walk the distance.

Minh took out her map and held it against a tree as she traced her intended route. The road wound around a stream and followed a ridge along its height. Tree cover was sparse on the higher elevation. The bondswoman had no intention of taking the road. Instead she would follow the stream that flowed along the foot of the ridge. It would lead her to a small cove. From there she could get a ground-level perspective of the landmarks for her next leg of her journey. It would be important for her to get to the lake before nightfall. Darkness had a way of changing the appearance of landmarks. With reduced depth perception, three dimensional objects seemed flat. Close objects could be construed as distant and vice versa. She wanted to take accurate compass readings while it was still light enough to see the landmarks. That bit of preparation would be her key to success.

She would infiltrate in darkness. Taking one last look at her map, she folded it and slipped it into the top of her coveralls. The belt would keep it from falling down into the legs of the one piece garment. If she had been given her choice of garment, she would have chosen to wear the two-piece field uniform. That had been her first request and it had been denied. She could only use what was available on the tables. Apart from the helmets and armor vests, the only garments she could choose were for parachuting.

Minh imagined what her opponents would be thinking. She would be expected to do something audacious. She would have to make the jump from an elevation high enough to keep the aircraft from being heard on the ground. Perhaps insertion by HALO, a High-Altitude Low-Opening jump. Despite her one parachute jump, she had not trained and was unqualified to make such a jump. She had not used a parasail 'chute like the Elementals had employed. She would need to use one if she had wished for an accurate landing. Then there was the problem of making a night jump. For that plan to work, she would have to jump in the dark. Without training, there was no way she could expect to land on that small spit of land. Even with night optics, she was too unfamiliar with navigating in the dark. Her perspective view of the ground would be constantly changing as the distance decreased. No, that plan would be impractical. She could miss the drop zone by kilometers, which would not put her in any better position than she was in now. A landing by VSTOL would have been ideal. She could quickly assault the camp at a time of her choosing. She believed she could get inside their defenses before they could react. At four to one odds, she was sure she could defeat them. It would not be much of a test of her abilities, though. In any event, she had not been offered the use of that aircraft.

A night approach by boat was also out of the question. The heated water of the lake would mask the heat signature of the boat's motor, but light amplifying optics could detect the craft easily.

Having trained with the Elementals, she was fully cognizant in the manner in which they would operate against her. Of course, they were fully aware of her own capabilities as well. They knew she would try to exploit her own abilities. Her small size would help her infiltrate their camp. Their defenses would be properly sited and prepared for any assault. Day or night, Minh could not hope to get close to the camp by land.

They would be prepared to stop her, whatever her venue. Air, land, or water. They did not have to look for her. All they had to do was wait for her to come to them.

It was that strategy that guided Minh's choice in weaponry, or more precisely, the lack thereof. She could have chosen to snipe at them from within an assault rifle's effective range. However, their camp had command of the heights. Her own lack of elevation would not permit her to dominate their camp. Even if she managed to eliminate one of them, the others could easily flank her by leaving the camp from the far side of the promontory. A single kill would not ensure victory. Under the terms of the test, she must neutralize them all. The only way she could accomplish that task would be from the inside of their camp.

All she had to do was slip through their defenses.

xxxXxxXxxx

Minh squatted within the sheltering concealment of the trees. Twenty meters in front of her was the cove. She could not see into the cloudy water. Water from underground springs percolated up and mixed with the silt from the stream. She could see the murky water dissipate outside of the wide mouth of the cove.

The air had been still all day, but with the onset of evening a breeze was freshening. The surface of the lake was starting to stir with the movement of air above it.

Holding her small compass before her, she confirmed the promontory's position on the dial. She could see the place clearly through the scrub. As long as she did not make any sudden moves, it was unlikely that anyone looking from the promontory would see her inside the brush.

Minh looked at the lake, the setting sun reflecting off of the wavering surface. She had been counseled more than once about staying out of the water unless sunlight was shining on it. She remembered Keller's joke about snakes, but she had never seen one. The only animal tracks she had observed were from the large rodents that inhabited the local area. The rodents were nocturnal and tended to gather in packs when they hunted. When night came, she would rather be in the water with the mythical snakes than on land with a pack of carnivorous rodents.

That was why her compass was so important. With her head at wave level, she would not be able to see her landmarks. Once night set, there would be nothing to see. The Elementals would surely not have any lights in their camp for her to follow. Her only illumination would be the luminous dial on her compass.

The sun would be setting soon. Minh wanted to be ready to go when it was dark. After carefully observing her surroundings to ensure that she was truly alone, she dropped her web belt and slipped off her shoes and coveralls. Clad only in her underwear, she started rearranging her gear. She tied a knot at knee level of each jumpsuit leg, then inserted a shoe into each one. Setting her clothes down, she turned her attention to the rest of her equipment. She pinned her compass to the shoulder of her T-shirt. Looking down, she could see it. She was certain that it would be out of sight of the promontory once she was in the water.

Laying her coveralls down, she sat on the garment and slowly ate a ration bar. She sipped her water until canteen was empty, watching the lake as darkness fell. Her eyes observed the coast, memorizing the terrain and getting a feel for the environment. She remembered Keen's exploratory trip underwater in his power armor. Minh wondered if the Elementals might set a trap for her the same way. How long could an Elemental in armor remain underwater on one charge of air? Could he communicate by radio with the Elementals on land? Perhaps they would use a communication cable for direct contact. For that matter, he could also use an air umbilical. The Elemental under the water could easily detach from the comm and air lines and take action once the landside observer gave the word to attack.

She would be safe enough from underwater attack while traversing the deep water. The surface was beyond visual range of the lake bottom. Unless floatation devices were used, the heavy armor would not be able to rise up toward her. Only when she was back within visual range of the armor, where the water was shallow, would she have to be on guard against subsurface threat.

The thought of facing multiple Elemental threats by herself only reinforced her feelings of loneliness. It would be after dinner for the women in the barracks now. She could imagine what the women would think when they realized that Minh would be absent for another night. Her sense of scandal resurfaced. In spite of the hospital pajamas that she had returned in last time, the unspoken accusation still persisted that she had spent the night in the company of her bondholder Keen. In Minh's view, to engage in such illegitimate conduct was the epitome of social impropriety. She felt outraged that her bunk room companions would believe that she would behave so shamefully. Her absence would only encourage that misconception.

Thinking about the activities occurring in the barracks reminded her that she was missing the evening poker game. She had not played the card game yet, given that she lacked the scrip and other collateral that the players took as barter. Correction, she lacked the scrip that she had earned in Quiet Springs. All of the belongings that she had collected during her sojourn had been confiscated upon her return. Her earnings would have been enough to make the game interesting to the other players. Certainly enough to meet the ever increasing bets as the players bid against each other. The pot in the middle grew in a surprisingly exorbitant rate. A vast sum could be won during one hand of play. She could understand why the card game was a popular activity.

Having no barter, she could not actively participate, but she watched the players. Bystanders were not encouraged at the game, but the men were sufficiently intimidated by the deceptively small bondwoman's formidable reputation.

A momentary shiver shook Minh out of her musings.

The air grew chill as the sun began to disappear behind Minh in the distant hills. Shadows reached out and covered the water, turning the lake into a black void. As night fell, she had expected to see lights from the base. Instead, she saw no sign of civilized habitation. The shape of the land was concealing the base as well as the Elemental's encampment. That was a disappointment, as she had hoped to use the lights as a way for her to keep her sense of direction.

The darkening sky revealed a scattering of twinkling stars. Looking straight up, she found one pair that seemed to stand out brighter than the others. If she were to connect them with a line, that line would have a diagonal facing toward the promontory.

Minh checked her compass against the arrangement of stars that she had noted. The difference between the diagonal line of two stars and the direction of the promontory was about forty degrees.

xxxXxxXxxx

The last of the sun was gone from the sky. Rising, Minh performed a series of stretches to warm up her muscles in preparation for her swim. Afterwards, she returned to her clothes. She fastened the belt around her hips. She had already positioned the two canteens over the small of her back, hoping that the one empty would balance the one that was still filled. Picking her coveralls up, she pulled the sleeves over her shoulders and tied them together in front of her throat, making the garment a cape. The shoes in the legs gave the jumpsuit some weight.

Taking a moment to remove the red lens from the flashlight, she shined it against the face of the compass. The luminescent features were noticeably brighter. Then she did something curious. She opened the flashlight and discarded the batteries. If Salen had been observing her, she would surely have protested her lack of understanding.

She had already carefully folded and rolled up her chart. It was a tight fit, but Minh managed to seal it inside the watertight casing. If she became disoriented and landed at the wrong spot, she would need the map. Of course, she would have to wait for daylight to read it.

As Minh approached the water, she was surprised that it was completely pitch black. Seeing it sparkle and reflect the bright sunlight, she expected to see the mirror image of stars upon the surface. The wind-driven movement precluded any such reflection. Rather than feeling fear, she felt a serene sense of vindication. The black mass of water would make her invisible to anyone trying to observe her. There would be no reflection for her to break up as she swam.

An unexpected flicker caught her eye. Looking up, she saw one of the stars fade, then brighten. A shallow layer of cloud had scudded across the sky. Minh frowned to herself, hoping that the sky would not become overcast when she most needed to keep ther sense of direction.

She could feel the moist dirt beneath her feet before she reached the lake itself. Careful not to splash, she entered the water and slowly advanced. The warm lake crept up her legs. The mud between her toes reminded her once more of the admonition against going into the water without sunlight. An unwelcome sense of uneasiness sat heavy in the pit of her stomach.

Minh had never tried to swim so far before. In fact, she had only learned to swim merely a few months previously. To undertake such an effort, in darkness no less, was extremely risky.

_I have had all day to think about this, but now I have doubts_, she thought derisively. She dismissed her misgivings and kept walking deeper. When the level of the water reached her waist, she lowered herself and surrendered herself to the liquid medium. Her coveralls trailed behind her, the air trapped inside her shoes keeping the garment buoyant. The empty canteen added lift to her body, permitting her to maintain a more horizontal posture, but it was a bit difficult for her to keep her head above water. She had to pause to slide the belt higher on her waist, dunking her head underwater in the process.

Raising her head once more, she was reminded of the first time she had been dunked. Her panic had almost caused her to drown. Blinking the water from her eyes, she began her long swim.

It was not very long before Minh encountered a problem with her shoes. One of them had filled with water, pulling the coveralls to one side. The other shoe had retained buoyancy, allowing the garment to hang off of her in an awkward manner. For a moment, she considered getting rid of the coveralls.

For a moment, anyway. Common sense reminded her that she did not want to complete her trial in her underwear.

Taking a deep breath, she floated face down while she reached over and spilled the air from the other shoe. She then brought that leg of the coveralls over and draped it over her back.

Minh resumed her careful paddling, keeping her head up to guide herself. She took a look at the compass pinned to her undershirt. She could tell that the illuminating qualities were beginning to dim, but she was reassured that she was swimming in the right direction. Above her, the stars remained to show her the way. A star would briefly disappear behind a cloud, but that too was a minor inconvenience.

Gradually the night lost its inky uniformness. In the distance, Minh could sense a deeper dark mass that she determined to be land. It did not seem to be very high. Being low in the water, she would not have a very good view of the surrounding headlands lining the lake. The sky above was a lesser shade of black. Black and blue.

Minh hoped that her eyes were not playing tricks on her. The heavy black mass that she assumed to be land looked the same from every direction. Wondering if it were the horizon of the water, she looked back the way she came. She was unable to see the land behind her.

She was surprised by the sense of vertigo. Alone in the water, feeling nothing but the wetness around her, she did not even know how far the bottom was from her. A strong sense of desire to return to shore assailed her.

She knew she had been foolish to do this. If something were to happen to her, no one would know where to look for her. She would just disappear and it would be assumed that she had run away. Again.

No, she would not turn back. She would not quit.

Pausing a moment to tread water, took a deep breath and looked at the stars. The orientation did not look right to her. In her momentary panic, she had turned herself from her proper course. She pointed herself in the correct direction and took another breath. Her face felt very warm. The effort of her swimming was causing her body to overheat. Despite the warm water, a chill ran down her spine.

It was the warmth of the lake. The elevated temperature of the water was preventing Minh's body from cooling. The only path for cooling was through her head. She could feel the breeze, but it felt warm to her.

Minh dipped her head underwater, then raised up again. The breeze immediately felt cooler. Her choice to swim the trial was more hazardous than she had previously realized. She could die from the heat.

Ignoring the desire to turn back, she resumed her swimming.

The need to keep her temperature down seemed to encompass her being. Although the stars provided guidance, they gave no indication of the distance she had traveled. It felt like her body was the center of the universe. A universe with no planet, no sun. Nothing but water. The closest land was directly beneath her, but that too was beyond her touch.

_If I had known what this would be like this_...

Minh shook her head. She did not want to surrender to self pity. It would lead to self doubt. She could not afford to question herself. Not now.

Unfortunately, the doubt had been raised and she could not forget it. Angrily, she faced her inner thoughts.

_Would I have done something different_?

There were only three methods of insertion. Aerial delivery was unavailable. Even though there had been a cargo plane, to parachute had been impractical. To infiltrate by land was suicide. Could there any other choice than to sneak in from the water?

_No_.

Minh knew that she had been set up to fail. The clan council had called this trial to dispose of the question of Minh once and for all. To win through, she had to do something unexpected. Something audacious. Something no one would expect a small girl like Minh to attempt, much less be capable of.

Minh sputtered with ill humor at the thought. None of the warriors considered her much more than a little girl. As a woman, she had already achieved her adult growth. Under the tutelage of the Elementals, she had reached her physical peak.

No, the time to put all the doubts to rest was now. There was no other way to do that. At least, to put the doubt to rest in her favor.

Having given herself a fresh dose of determination, Minh looked up at the stars.

During her mental deliberation, she had not noticed the stars disappear. All of them.

Minh looked down at her compass. It was very dim, barely shining through the water. She paused to pull her shirt up to get the compass out of the water. Able to see it better, she noticed that she was a little bit off course. Correcting herself, she proceeded once more.

During her swim, she found she had to stop and tread water. The strain of swimming with her head out of the water was causing muscle pain in the back of her neck. It was during these stops that she checked the compass.

In spite of the fact that the compass was becoming harder to see, she was reasonably satisfied that she was keeping her direction true.

She had lost track of the time. The complete darkness provided her with no hint. Once in a while, a star would flash to momentary brilliance then vanish.

_Using the stars for guidance had seemed like a great idea at the time_, Minh considered ruefully.

Minh ducked her face into the water. Raising her face, she felt no comforting breeze. The lack of air movement caught her attention and she looked up. The sky seemed a lot darker in front of her. Storm clouds? Minh was positive that she should be feeling the rush of wind with the approach of a low level storm.

Instead, the air was still.

Minh peered at the cloud. It towered over her. Unlike the normal clouds that she was used to seeing, this was not moving. It was the calm before the storm.

For a moment, an incongruous thought occurred to her. She had lost sight of the stars. With the glow gone from her compass, that too was useless to her. Adrift in the middle of the lake, she was in danger of being inundated by a storm.

As soon as she made the thought, the idea did not make sense. This was no cloud.

It was land. The promontory rose up over her like a massive shadow in the darkness. Peering up at it, she could detect no sign of occupation. Her imagination conjured up an image of Wendal with a sniper rifle aimed right at her.

Minh gave herself a mental shake. She was extremely exposed treading water in plain sight of land. Quietly, she resumed her swim. She was rewarded by seeing the land become higher.

Looking straight ahead, she saw a dark horizontal shape. Water dripped into her eyes and she blinked it away. When she looked again, the shape materialized into a platform. A dock.

She slowly approached the dock, trying to see any movement on it. There was no sign of life. That did not mean anything. It would not be hard for someone to wait motionless on the dock, just waiting for her to swim into ambush.

Carefully she closed the distance. She tried not to concentrate her attention on any one spot. She permitted her vision to wander. In the still environment, it would be easy to notice any motion.

In the darkness, the dock gained definition of detail. Minh had expected to see a platform supported by pylons. It had been her intention to climb the pylons to gain access to the dock. What she found was a dock supported by pontoons.

Reaching the front of the dock, she looked closely at the smooth flotation device. Made of a reflective metal, it provided no hand hold for her. At various places were dark smudges where something had rubbed against it. Above one such smudge she noticed narrow shape jutting out over the water. For a moment, she entertained the idea of trying to reach for it. Unfortunately, it was too high.

Cautiously she moved along the pontoon. Perhaps there was a rope or ladder on the side of the dock. It seemed logical to put a ladder on the side, while boats tied up to the front. Reaching the end of the pontoon, she floated around the corner of the dock. As she had hoped, a rope dangled down from the dock. The end hung within a half meter of the surface of the water. Minh reached it easily and gave it a slight tug. The rope moved in her grasp, then offered resistance. She gave it a stronger test, letting it support her weight. Above her, there was a sliding sound and suddenly there was no more resistance.

A shape fell from the dock and Minh instinctively put her hands over her head for protection.

Something hit her arms as she partially sank in the water, entangling her. If it were not for the water, she would have cried out in surprise. In a reflex motion, she deflected it away. As it sank, she realized what she had been hit by. It was a coil of rope.

Why would someone leave a coil of rope lying loose on the dock?

Listening carefully, she wondered how far the sound of the splash had carried. She heard no other noise. She looked up at the dock and noticed the cross braces that supported the dock. The braces were connected to the pontoon at the apex. She followed the beams to a second pontoon.

The braces seemed to be I-beams.

Minh had an idea, but she waited a little while longer for a response to the rope hitting the water.

She heard nothing.

Kicking her legs in the water, she reached up to the beam. It was tantalizingly close. Her fingertips barely touched it.

She made another attempt, using one arm to give herself a surge upward. Her fingers caught the beam and automatically her other arm came up. She could feel the weight of the waterlogged coveralls.

_Now to climb up_, she thought. If she could brace her feet on the pontoon, she could wrestle herself up over the edge of the dock.

The sound of water lapping against the pontoons reverberated beneath the dock. Willing herself to be quiet, she brought one leg out of the water and placed her foot onto the pontoon.

At that moment, something brushed her other leg. Startled, she looked down into the dark water. She could see nothing but complete blackness.

_It's that rope_, Minh rolled her eyes. She lifted her other leg out of the water.

It was then that she saw movement. There was a splash of water and something big and broad clamped onto her shin above her ankle. The stabbing pain in her bare calf caused her to lose her grip on the beam. Falling back into the water, she sank instantly. At the same time, something firm and muscular wrapped around her leg. The weight dragged her down.

xxxXxxXxxx

On the top of the bluff, Anton had a view of the stairs leading down to the dock. He could also see the exposed piece of ground that connected the promontory to the lake shore. It was an ideal position to observe the approach of water craft as well as anything on land. A thermal viewer dangled by the neck strap against his chest. Even though it was useful for observing heat sources on land, the heated water overpowered the optics when used to view the lake. Of course, Anton did not need any special equipment to see a boat or inflatable raft.

He had just assumed the watch from Keller. The other Elemental had just stepped away when a horrific splash from the dock caught his attention. He moved closer to the edge of the bluff to look down. Keller joined him.

"Snake got something," Anton muttered.

"What would go near a snake nest?"

"Maybe another snake," Anton guessed. "It sounds like the show is over."

The initial splashing had subsided. The only sound was the slap of water against the pontoons.

"It sounded like a big one."

"Or two of them."

"What could they have been fighting over?"

"Field pack rat, probably."

xxxXxxXxxx

Minh had managed to take in a mere gasp of air before the thing had pulled her under. The crushing grip sent lances of pain through her leg. At least two sharp needles had penetrated her skin, one on either side of her shin. Something muscular contacted her at hip level, scratching her as it continued to wrap her.

Doubled over, she blindly sought to pry off the tormenter. Contacting it, she felt the pressure of its grip tighten on her calf. The thing tumbled her over in the water.

Minh gave an involuntary gasp of pain, losing some precious air in the process. Her desperate hands sought to gain a handhold on it.

Her mind was becoming fuzzy. A sense of darkness was creeping in on her. In the depths of the water, there was no light. As if in response to that subconscious realization, a light seemed to shine into her eyes. It grew brighter and brighter as her heart pounded and lungs began to burn in need for air.

One of her fingers found a soft spot. The thing clamped harder still.

_You do not like that_, Minh thought savagely. Without further consideration, she jabbed her finger into the softness. In less than a second, her knuckle bottomed out.

The thing gave a shudder, then relaxed. The grip on her leg slacked off and the coils around her body became loose.

Minh kicked for the surface, what little air remaining in her leaking past her lips. Popping to the surface, she flailed for something to hold on to. She rapped the back of her forearm on a pontoon.

The solid contact jolted her out of her panic. After two sobbing gulps, she made a conscious effort to control herself. It was difficult to get her breath back while trying to remain quiet. She knew she had made a lot of noise. If someone had heard her, they would not announce their presence. No, they would be alert. They would wait for her. Surprise would no longer be on her side.

It was quiet. If anyone was waiting for her to reveal herself, she would find out soon enough.

She did not know how long she had been swimming. It could be light soon. She had to get out of the water and away from the dock.

She especially could not remain under the dock. Where there is one, there could be another...

Powered by adrenalin, she repeated her surge upward to the I-beam. Once more she kicked her feet onto the pontoon, gingerly lifting her injured leg. As cool air came into contact with her abused shin, a fresh sting of pain surfaced. She hissed in response.

Minh remained poised, her body dangling awkwardly over the water. She was aware of the belt buckled around her waist, the full canteen resting on her pelvis. From her neck and shoulders, she felt surprisingly bare.

The bandoleer and her coveralls were gone.

In their place was the limp scaley form of her attacker. Rather than feel revulsion, her inner being flashed with rage.

_I did not come all the way out here just to fight these guys in my underwear_!

All she had to show for her effort so far was this carcass. She was determined that she would not lose it too. Making sure she had a good grip with one hand, she draped part of the thing over her shoulder.

Thus fitted, Minh turned her attention to surmounting the dock. With her free arm, she reached over the dock and hooked her forearm on top with her elbow seated at the edge. The rough surface of the dock dug into the skin of her arm. Taking her other hand from the I-beam, she was suspended by her elbow. Reaching over with her hand, she gripped the dock and, after taking two deep breaths, began to lever herself up and over.

The surface of the dock was very rough. It was clearly designed to provide good footing in wet or dry weather.

Her feet were beginning to slip off of the pontoon. Using her hand to support her body, she inched her first arm farther along the dock. Her arm became scratched by the non-skid surface that coated the dock. However, the surface also provided her with the purchase necessary to work her way onto the dock.

_Yes, they call this non-skid_, she thought, pleased to be able to get a grip.

Unlike the pontoons. One foot slipped back into the warm water. She knew she would fall back into the water if she lost her other footing. With a low grunt, she pulled herself with her other arm, throwing her torso onto the dock. The movement caused her other foot to flail free, but she was now laying on the dock, her legs dangling down in the water.

In may have been her imagination, but the water seemed to be moving more than it should. She quickly shifted herself sideways and curled her legs up. The carcass flopped around her as she came to rest on her back. A coil of the beast was beneath the small of her back.

She could not stay on the dock. The sun would be up soon. The cirrus that had been causing havoc with her guiding stars were becoming visible. The very first rays of daylight began to dispel the cloaking grasp of night.

From where she was looking, the bluff rose almost vertically. Shrouded in shadow, the only detail she could determine were clumps of shrubbery and rocky outcroppings.

_I wish it were raining_, Minh thought, recalling that she had first mistaken the dark bluff for storm clouds. _It would be easier to sneak up there_.

Minh rolled away from the edge of the dock and sat up. She examined herself. She did not need illumination to know that she was a mess, even without the dead creature draped about her slight figure. Her forearms were scratched from climbing out of the water, but they were of little consequence compared to her leg. There were two puncture wounds on the outer side of her shin, just above her ankle. A third wound was on the inside. The two outer wounds were still bleeding. It was not a steady flow as she would have expected. Her entire leg ached from the crushing grip the creature inflicted when it first pulled her under water.

_I have been hurt and I have yet to face anyone_, Minh thought with disgust. She had another thought. _Why did I not bring a first aid kit? It was there for me to take. I held the contents in my hands as I emptied the pouch. I really need to cover my ankle_.

Minh took stock of herself. For clothing, all she had were her shorts and the undershirt plastered to her skin. Of her equipment, all the had left was the belt, an empty canteen, a full canteen, and the chart inside her flashlight. The first aid pouch turned ration pouch was missing.

Her stomach growled.

For rations or first aid, Minh really missed not having the pouch. Somehow it had come off the belt during the life or death struggle. If it hadn't been for the attack, she would be eating a ration bar.

_Well, no berating my short-sightedness_, she thought. She pulled the tail of her undershirt up to her mouth, she nibbled at the material to break the woven threads. A childhood reminder popped into awareness.

_Stop that! You will ruin your teeth_!

Minh smiled at the memory. The wet cloth gave way under her teeth. She quietly tore it until the split was as long as the width of her hand. Then she changed her grip and made a tear at a right angle to the first. The wet material made little noise.

When she had finished, she had a strip of cloth to wrap around her ankle. She did not think it would stop her from bleeding, but perhaps it would keep the dirt out.

Maybe.

Minh had wasted enough time, in her opinion. She had to get off of the dock before the sun rose.

She looked across the dock, seeing a short ladder was suspended from a platform. Mounted to the bluff, the platform served as a landing for stairs that led up and around the cliff side.

Picking herself up, she was surprised by the weak wobbly feeling in her legs. It had been a long swim and, now she was back on her feet, she discovered that she was strangely unaccustomed to the act of walking.

_I cannot stop now_, Minh thought doggedly. She forced herself to go to the ladder. She quietly climbed up. Listening carefully, she heard nothing.

Minh peered over the edge of the landing. Accustomed to the complete darkness, her eyes were able to use the scant light reflecting from the clouds. A meter from the ladder she noticed that the surface of the platform was covered with small shapes.

Leaves.

She looked up, but the cliff face was bare of shrubs. Odd that these leaves would have found their way here. On a hunch, she stepped higher on the ladder and looked to the stairs. There were leaves covering the stairs as well. The even spread of leaves appeared to have been laid deliberately.

Gingerly, she reached out and picked up the closest leaf. If felt stiff and brittle between her fingers. She could imagine the dry rasping noise they would make when blown by the wind. Or the crunch when crushed underfoot.

If she had not seen them, she could have climbed up the ladder and then unwittingly stepped on the leaves. The dry crunching noise would certainly alert a listener waiting at the top of the ladder. A very simple alarm system.

_I cannot go this way_, Minh decided. There was no doubt in her mind that she could easily pick her way up the stairs. It would take little effort to set the leaves aside to permit silent passage. To be able to hear the cracking of leaves, the sentry would have to be at the top of the stairs. Unless he was asleep, she could not count on taking him down by surprise.

Minh looked up at the bluff. From the water it had appeared to be an unyielding fortress. A tower of solid rock. The gangly bushes growing from the side of the cliff gave evidence that there were cracks in the rock. On closer examination, she could see the fractures and depressions that marred the vertical surface.

Could she climb it? More importantly, could she ascend the cliff before sunrise? The clouds above had taken on a distinct glow.

xxxXxxXxxx

The top of the outcrop where the Elementals had encamped was in the shape of a bowl depression. They had set up against the landward ridge. The camp was protected from observation from all sides, save the eroded break formed by centuries of runoff from rainfall. This was the gap that accessed the stairway to the dock. On the lakeside rim of the bowl rose a spire of rock. The ground was higher there, thus providing an almost unlimited field of fire for the machine gun emplaced there. Protected by a berm, the gun could target the entire camp depression and the peninsula that led to shore. The only blind spot was the spire behind the gun. A rifle position on either side provided security for the gunner.

Batiste stood above the stairway, a rifle cradled in the crook of one arm. He had relieved Anton a short time earlier. Rather than retire, Anton sat and napped near the fire. Wendal was tending the fire, preparing hot water for their field rations. Keller was beneath his lean-to, still sleeping.

It had been a warm night, so Keller had slept on his bedroll. The canvas lean-to was ideally situated to catch the stray breeze. The sound of the crackling fire and Wendal's not so subtle activity roused him from complete slumber.

_Everybody must be up_, he thought. Sitting up, he leisurely pulled on his boots. He took his time tying the laces. Wendal was whistling now. It would almost have been enjoyable to listen to, but he was out of tune.

_If he whistled more often, instead of just to call reveille, maybe he would be better at it,_ Keller finished with his laces and crawled out of his tent. Standing, he thrust his chest out and stretched his arms wide. His fists clenched and he gave a very satisfying yawn.

Still whistling, Wendal's eyes twinkled with amusement. He listened for the customary popping and snapping of working muscle and bone. In place of the expected stretching sounds, he heard a heavy metallic unlocking and locking noise. It was accompanied by a brief cacophony of tinny tinkling. He stopped whistling in mid-note. He saw Keller raise his head to look behind him.

Wendal did not have to turn around to know what was happening. The machine gun had been cycled, extracting the loaded round and feeding the next round from the belt. A disintegrating metal belt link was ejected from the receiver with the extracted round. The gunner had worked the bolt to load the weapon, not knowing that a round was already in the chamber.

Wendal took in Keller's look of astounded surprise. He had frozen in his stretch, his arms out. It could only be Minh. He wondered how she had gotten past Batiste to get to the automatic weapon. He could not see Batiste from where he faced, but he dared not move.

Anton felt no such compunction. Shielded by his body, his hand slowly crept to the pistol holstered at his hip.

Wendal knew it was hopeless. The pistol lacked the range to be accurate. The machine gun was too far away. Ironically, the Elementals had prepared for such an eventuality. On the other side of Keller's tent was a short range missile launcher. The man portable weapon was good for two shots and could easily take out the machine gun nest. The SRM launcher was protected by a slit trench. To conceal it, the tent was used as a firing blind. If Keller had still been sacked out, he could have rolled out of his lean-to and into the trench without being seen.

Waiting until Minh could see all of the men before springing her ambush was tactically astute.

Keller was looking at the machine gun nest straight on. Minh had indeed commandeered the weapon, but she was aiming at Batiste. He was the only man with a weapon in hand.

"I will accept your surrender now! Put your weapon down, Batiste!"

Minh's voice carried to them all. Sounding hoarse and tired, it was not the clear tone they were accustomed to. There was an impatience in her manner. Although concealed behind the berm, Keller could detect the wear and tear of her appearance.

"Anton, I know you have a pistol! You will show me both hands now!" Minh did not turn her head, but she did not need to. She could see all four of the Elementals in her peripheral vision.

"Sounds like someone had a rough night," Wendal murmured.

"Now, Anton!" Minh's voice was strident with anger.

Anton had reached the flap over his holster, but he had stopped when Minh had singled him out. He moved his hands away from his body, then turned his head to look up at her. His eyebrows went up.

"What in the world is that little thing wearing?"

"Put the weapon down! I will not tell you again!" Minh was addressing Batiste again. There was a nasty edge to her voice.

Batiste knew that the past several months had weighed heavily on the girl. No, she was a young woman. The ordeals she had gone through in her association with the clan had helped shape her resolution. This test had been win or die. There was no doubt that she intended to win. He looked into her dark eyes. There was no doubt that she was capable of killing them all.

Not that is was necessary to defeat all of them. Under the rules of engagement, Minh was only required to put down one Elemental.

Looking at the others, he could not contain a smile. Minh had managed to infiltrate their camp and get the drop on them. He was not sure how she had done it, but he was interested in finding out.

Minh noticed his smile and her eyes took on a hard edge. True to her word, she had no intention of repeating herself. Her next action would be to pull the trigger.

Batiste had seen her angry before. This time she had a heavy machine gun and an apparent willingness to use it. Under the terms of the test, she not only had permission to shoot him, but it was expected.

"I yield," he said, raising his free hand. He twisted the arm cradling the rifle and, holding it by the buttstock, carefully set it down on the ground. As he straightened up, he stepped back from the weapon.

Minh tilted her head to look at the remaining Elementals. She turned the machine gun away from Batiste, but did not quite train it on the others.

"It must be unanimous!"

Wendal kept his arms in view as he stood up and turned to face her. Without speaking, he leaned forward at the waist. It was not a common act for a clan warrior, but one that Minh habitually employed herself. Anton picked himself up and duplicated the respectful supplication. Then, with his off hand, he unfastened his gun belt and let the holstered weapon drop to his feet.

Keller's outstretched pose had not changed. He waved his arms.

"How much more obvious do I have to be?"

The three Elementals stared expectantly at the young woman. Her harsh facial expression did not change for several heartbeats.

"I accept you at your word!" Minh called out finally, nodding her head once. Relinquishing the trigger, she opened the receiver of the machine gun and removed the ammunition belt. She cycled the bolt and removed the chambered cartridge, completely clearing the weapon.

Wearily, Minh braced herself against the rock spire and stiffly rose to her feet. She limped toward Batiste, giving him his first good look at her. She was covered with dirt from head to toe. Her bare skin was covered with scrapes and scratches. A blood caked makeshift bandage was wrapped around her shin. Mottled bruises covered her bandaged leg. Her undershirt was torn, a flap hanging down just below one shoulder.

_No wonder she is in such a bad mood_, Batiste thought as he waited for her.

She walked past him toward the stairway.

"Where are you going?"

"I am hungry. I want my breakfast."

Batiste saw something in her eye, a feral gleam, that he had never seen before. At least, not in Minh.

"Take the rifle," he said. "Round chambered, safety on."

"I will not need it," Minh gave him a strange look. "My hands will be full. You carry it."

The suggestion carried more than a hint of command. He realized that the small woman wanted him to follow her. She did not wait to see if he would obey, but continued to the stairs. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he strode after her.

Watching her negociate the stairs, he appreciated her light step in spite of her limp. He remembered the day he escorted her from the DropShip to her cell on the JumpShip. She had been barefoot then, too. In her oversized coveralls, he had only seen her as weak and undersized. Now she was almost naked, her body covered with the signs of her ordeal. Still small, she exhibited nothing but her strength.

The three Elementals watched the two leave the camp. Keller had since lowered his arms once Minh had unloaded the machine gun. As Wendal returned to tending the fire, Anton spoke his thoughts.

"If she were not so small..." A tone of admiration was in his voice.

Wendal and Keller looked at him. Anton had always been the most critical of Minh.

"Her size is not the issue," Wendal shrugged. "With Minh, it is an advantage."

"We underestimated her," Keller said in agreement. "From her appearance, it looks like she put up a fight."

"It was not with us," Anton pointed out. "We did not suffer a scratch, yet she is the one victorious."

"A needless death is not an honorable death. To throw our lives away without being able to inflict the same in kind would have been nothing more than a meaningless gesture."

Wendal's thoughtful words echoed what the others were thinking. The star colonel had been most specific about one of the qualifications for completing the trial. No one had offered up his life for her victory.

Batiste followed Minh down the stairs. Near the landing, their feet began to crunch on the leaves. Minh gave him a knowing look over her shoulder, thus saw his reaction when the dock came into his view. He quickly shrugged the rifle from his shoulder.

"I died it already."

Minh's incomprehensible statement caught him momentarily off guard. He took a second look at the dock.

"You mean you killed it already."

"It tried to eat me," Minh accepted his correction. "I was hungrier." She climbed down the ladder.

He nodded in agreement, keeping his weapon ready. The carcass lay at the center of the dock, still half coiled. Reaching the dock, he noticed that Minh had gone toward one of the chains that moored the dock to the cliff. That was where she had discarded her equipment belt. When she picked it up, he could hear the water sloshing in a partially filled canteen. He could understand why she had abandoned her belt prior to her infiltration. The noise from her canteen would have given away her presence.

After giving the dead serpent one last look, he began inspecting the towering obstacle that Minh had surmounted. He could detect the trail she left on the cliff face. A dark brown smudge of blood on an outcropping of stone here, a sagging branch of brush that had been used for a step there.

"I was not aware you were a rock climber."

"Neither was I."

Her candid reply was oddly unemotional. Without removing the canteen from her belt, she had removed the cap. She drank deeply, then sighed with contentment. Her thirst slaked, she noticed Batiste's interest. She looked up at the cliff. It was her first good look at it in daylight.

"I did not see that," she commented. She traversed the edge of the dock for a closer look. A ledge ran at a forty five degree angle up away from her. "I had gone the hard way." She pointed at a near perpendicular cleft that jutted out precariously over the ledge.

"It was well that you did not," Batiste countered. "That piece of fractured stone is unstable. Plates of it have fallen off in the past."

Minh eyed the ledge, then looked to a point higher. Using the memory of her climb, she found where her compass had snagged on a rock. She had to hug the rock to keep her center of balance on the cliff. Unwilling to lean backwards to give the compass clearance, she forced her way up. The wet cloth of her undershirt ripped. Unconsciously, she fingered the torn flap where it had been pinned.

Giving herself a mental shake, she buckled her belt on. Batiste watched as she went to the carcass. To his amazement, she stood in the center of it and crouched down. She began gathering it up to carry. Seeing the light reflect off of the iridescent scales, his astonishment turned to fascination.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"I told you. I want my breakfast," she adjusted the dead creature about her. "Because of this thing, I lost my coveralls, my shoes, and my rations. It owes me."

Minh's vehemence seemed to give her the strength to stagger to her feet. She blew out her breath.

"At least I do not have to carry it up the cliff this time up," she said.

"I have not seen anything like this," Batiste took a closer look at the pearlescent scales. "It will make an interesting pelt."

"You can have it," Minh began trudging toward the ladder. "Just clean it and cook some of it for me."

"Bargained well and done," Batiste agreed.

Keller was first to notice the two of them returning to camp. It was difficult for him to identify what Minh had draped over herself. He was equally mystified by Batiste's smug look. Coming closer, he notice the angular head hanging to the side.

"She has a snake," he had to force himself to believe what he was seeing.

"That explains her marks from fighting," Anton joined him. The two men looked knowingly at each other, recalling the splashing from the dock.

"What was it you said? 'If she were not so small...'" Keller quoted.

"I was thinking out loud."

Wendal heard the conversation and looked up in time to see Minh deposit the carcass on the ground.

"Where did you find the snake?"

"It found me," Minh answered, a look of puzzlement appearing on her face.

As the Elementals gathered around, Batiste went to his backpack and retrieved his knife. Slipping it from the scabbard, he inspected the sharpness of the blade.

"This cannot be a snake. It does not have legs," Minh blurted.

The ignorance of her statement caught the Elementals off guard.

"You are thinking of a lizard," Wendal explained. Minh faced him. She opened her mouth to speak, then changed her mind.

_No, I have always heard that epithet used to describe the dragon symbol of the Draconis Combine_, she thought. Not lizard, but snake. The symbol had legs, but it was also serpentine in shape. Like the snake lying at their feet.

"You took a big risk being in the water last night," Anton said.

"You have been told many times to watch out for snakes," Batiste added.

"I thought it was for water safety," Minh responded. "Wait for the sun so I could see the bottom."

"The snakes do not like the daylight," Anton explained.

"I thought you were having sport with me," Minh said candidly. "I did not think they were real."

"Well, now you know," Batiste turned to Wendal. "Hold off on cooking. Minh brought breakfast. Let her use the hot water for her bath."

"I can wash in the lake," Minh offered. Washing herself in camp was the same as a bird bath. The meager prospect did not appeal to her.

"One snake is enough," Keller chuckled.

Anton provided Minh with soap and Keller brought her his blanket for her to wear afterwards.

Wendal assisted Batiste with the snake. Wendal looked at Minh, then spoke in a low voice.

"I have heard that these snakes are poisonous."

"So have I," Batiste turned the broad head of the snake so that the two teeth in the upper jaw faced toward an open area. Taking his knife, he prodded one tooth. In reflex, the lower jaw closed on the blade. Pulling it out with a deft twist, he then shifted his hand to the other side of the head. Levering the jaw open, he gave the other fang a nudge. A thin spray of liquid burst out from a hollow not quite at the tip.

"One venom gland was full," Wendal observed. "Do you suppose Minh took the other one?"

"She seems okay, if a trifle beat up," Batiste surmised. "Let her finish washing, then tend to her injuries. It looks like this thing bit her leg. She bled a bit, so if she took any poison, perhaps it did not stay in."

"I would think she would already be dead," Wendal guessed. "It was hard work climbing the cliff and then carrying this snake up the stairs. Her circulation would have spread the poison through her body."

"Keep an eye on her anyway," Batiste began to cut at the snake. "We do not know what affects the venom will have. Do not say anything to her. I would hate to see her go into shock after having gone this far." He then raised his voice. "Anton! Get on the radio and tell them the trial is over. Minh has passed. Inform them that we will take care of the body."

Keller and Anton grinned at each other. The star colonel's order had been obeyed after all.

"Tell them to bring Minh a spare set of coveralls."

"I want fresh underwear, too" Minh piped up. "Oh! My boots. Katya still has my boots someplace." With her busy week, she had not been able to talk to Katya about getting her field uniform returned.

Batiste nodded to Anton to include Minh's request.

xxxXxxXxxx

The sight that greeted the boat captain and his men was not what he expected. True, the camp had been packed up, but the Elementals were not yet ready to depart. There was a long strip of animal hide drying in the sunlight. Next to an extinguished campfire lay a sleeping woman wrapped in a blanket.

"We're going to let her sleep a while longer. We have time," Batiste explained. "You guys look hungry. No sense in letting the meat go to waste."

"Just leave enough for Cook," Wendal admonished. "Minh was adamant about that."

"Meat," the captain repeated tonelessly. He saw only four Elementals. "I was told you have a body."

"The snake," Batiste informed him. "Apparently, four Elementals were not enough of a challenge for her. She went out last night and got that snake with her bare hands."

The boat crew looked at the bantam weight woman. In the tightknit warrior community, they were familiar with the bondswoman Minh. It had been difficult to conceive why an Elemental like Keen would show such martial interest in the little woman. They could see that the snake hide was incredibly large. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that one of these massive Elementals was capable of taking the snake without the use of augmentation. This woman was another matter. There was obviously more to her than met the eye.

"She took that," the boat captain tilted his head to the snake hide.

"Deftly," Batiste nodded. "She poked it in the eye and stabbed the brain with her finger."

The man looked back at him, clearly unsure if the Elemental was joking or not.

Two hours later, Batiste went to rouse Minh from her sound sleep. Sitting up, she gave a jaw cracking yawn and then stared blearily at the newcomers. Batiste handed her clothes to her.

"Thirsty," she mumbled with a dry voice.

"I will get you water," he replied. "Get dressed. It is time to go."

Minh looked at the clothes lying in her blanket covered lap. Her undergarments were neatly folded inside her coveralls. She searched the ground around her.

"I do not see my boots."

"Katya was not in the barracks," the boat captain explained. "No one else knew where your boots were."

"Katya does not live in my barracks. She is a med tech," Minh hugged her clothing to her chest and lay back, prepared to go back to sleep.

Batiste returned with a canteen. Kneeling by her, he lightly touched her face with the side of his finger. Twitching, her eyes opened wide.

"I am awake."

"Here," he held out the canteen to her. Once she took it, he rose and left her.

"She will be okay. Just a bit warmer. Probably dehydrated. She did not drink that much before she went to sleep," Batiste quietly confided with his team.

"She is more pale than usual," Wendal commented.

"Not the first time."

"Uh, she did not happen to use herself as bait, did she?"

The boat captain's question caught their attention and they turned. Minh was partially dressed. Seated on a stone, she was gingerly slipping the coveralls onto her bruised leg. Small bandages were affixed to various places on her arms and legs. The largest one covering her snake bite disappeared into the leg of the coveralls.

"Is there another way to catch snakes?" Anton asked blithely.

The boat captain did not answer, suitably impressed.

Minh wished she could have washed again. She had slept since her last bath. Still groggy from her short rest, she lacked the resolve to argue with Batiste. She knew he would refuse her wish, since the boat was now here. Most of the camp gear was gone, obviously taken down to the boat. Normally a light sleeper in the field, she had heard none of that activity this time.

When she was finished dressing, she folded the blanket and used it as a cushion to sit on. Although she had drank all of the water from the canteen, she still felt slightly feverish. The still air felt heavy against her exposed skin. The bowl-shaped earth walls around the camp prohibited free air movement. It was tempting to lay back down and have another nap.

"Minh."

The bondswoman looked to Batiste. The Elemental motioned with his head to get up. The boat crew had already gone down the stairs. Rising, Minh picked up the blanket and limped to the waiting warriors. Having rested, her leg had become stiff again.

The Elementals stood at the head of the stairs. Anton and Wendal on one side, Batiste and Keller on the other. The thought that came to her mind was that they had formed an honor guard. Silent, the men looked down at her expectantly. One side of her mouth quirked uncontrollably. Holding the blanket to her chest, she took the hint and proceeded down the stairs.

It felt strange for the Elementals to be following her lead. As the dock came into view, she could see the boat that would transport them back to Fort Bivouac proper. Two men stood on the dock, one at each end of the boat. They were preparing to remove the mooring lines from the dock. Being in their view, Minh felt self-conscious about her limp and made an effort to conceal her injury.

The boat had a flat deck with a single deckhouse located just forward of it's center point. There was a canvas-covered heavy machine gun mounted on the bow and a second on the stern. Two lighter machine guns were mounted on either side of the open bridge. A canvas served as a roof for the bridge. Behind the bridge, a companionway led down to the interior of the boat.

Minh had to hand off the blanket to descend the ladder at the bottom of the stairs to the dock. Once down, she accepted the blanket back and turned to face the boat. Approaching the craft, she noticed that cylindrical cushions were suspended by lines from the deck. The cushions protected the hull of the boat from edge of the dock. There was about half a meter of height from the dock to the deck. She expected to traverse a plank from the dock to the boat, but no such device had been deployed. No stairs nor even a ladder. In the time it took for her to reach the boat, she had decided that she could make a short running jump.

At that moment, the boat captain walked across the boat and reached a hand down to Minh.

"Welcome aboard," he greeted her.

Minh accepted his hand and let him pull her up onto his boat. There was a tone of respect in his manner, one that she had never heard from a warrior she had never met before. And these men were warriors. Only warriors would be operating an armed boat.

"We do not normally carry passengers and cargo," he continued, waving his hand at the camping equipment and weapons positioned around the deck. "With the added weight, we have to balance the boat. Go ahead and have a seat behind the gun mount." He pointed towards the bow.

Minh stepped forward and sat on the blanket with her back against the deck house. She could feel the boat respond to the movements to the boat captain as he made room for the Elementals to board. The boat listed noticeably as each of the massive warriors embarked. The boat captain arranged them two to each side.

No one could see her from where she sat and she closed her eyes, dropping her feigned facade. Her eyebrows pinched together as the dull pain throbbed up her shin. The air was not as heavy as it had been in camp, but there was still no circulation at the base of the bluff. Her skin felt clammy and she did not know if she wanted to faint or vomit.

The boat captain had not been fooled by the woman's cool stoicism. Her pallor alerted him that she might be susceptible to motion sickness. The ride would be smoother aft, but he wanted her forward just in case she was sick. In case there was a mess, it would be easier to hose off the deck.

From where she sat, Minh ignored the activity of the boat. The rumble of the engine sounded identical to that of a truck and was thus easily dismissed. She barely registered the boat captain's command to cast off. With her eyes closed, she did not see the crewman board the bow and quickly flake the mooring line on the deck. Turning the helm, the boat captain moved the boat's stern away from the dock, then he reversed the craft out into the lake. Once he determined a safe distance from the dock, he turned the boat and proceeded away from the landing.

The cool air against her face dispelled the stagnant atmosphere and diminished her sense of discomfort. The gentle sway lacked the jarring shock that a truck would generate on a rough road. With the hint of a gentle smile on her lips, she opened her eyes and curiously examined her surroundings.

The pedestal mounted canvas-covered machine gun dominated the deck in front of her. The weapon was locked with the barrel pointing straight up. The stow position of the machine gun meant for a simple shape for the cover. She critically studied the hook and clasp fasteners that held the canvas closed. She imagined that it would take about a second to free the automatic weapon from it's cover. Of course, the weapon would have to be leveled to permit complete removal of the cover. In an emergency, she was sure that the cover could be thrown off of the receiver so the weapon could be operated. With the canvas draped on the barrel, the fabric material would pose no obstruction to the firing projectiles.

Looking beyond the mounted weapon, she noticed the hand railing that served as a border between the deck and the side of the boat. The railing was hardly higher than the thickness of an average man's hand from the deck. Rather than serve as a safety barrier, Minh decided that it served as a grip for persons to board the craft. Or the suspend bumpers over the side.

Her mind traveled back to a few moments before. She remembered one of the crewman calling to another to pull the bumpers aboard. Those were the cylindrical cushions she had first seen. As the water rushed by, she thought back to other details that her mind had subconsciously picked up. The boat crew wore flexible shoes, almost whisper silent on the deck and yet provided firm traction. Boat shoes?

Looking to the side, she saw the lake shore falling away in the distance. She could not see the promontory. It was somewhere behind them. The land she could see was unfamiliar. From the complete darkness in the previous night, she would not remember the land now. She could not even find the part of land where she had departed for her swim. Being out on the boat far from land brought home the truly immense size of the lake. She could conceivably have gotten lost and inadvertently ended up in the middle of the body of water. Or grounded at the wrong point.

For the first time, she considered the enormity of what she had done. It was not by far the most intelligent thing she had ever done. Not at all. Just from heat stress alone, had she remained in the water all night, she would surely have perished. Bravery or desperation, the end result was that she was alive and not lost.

Yes, she was alive. It was a good feeling.

Turning her head, she watched the distant shore slide by. The sections of land she observed seemed unfamiliar to her eye. Granted, she had never seen the ground from a water-side vantage point before. She saw buildings built into a low hillside. Each had one or two horizontal slits. Much like windows, but without covers. _Firing ports?_ Minh wondered. _What could they be protecting from the lake?_

Just as the question occurred to her, she realized that the bunkers were for training purposes. She was unsure whether it could be for assaulting or defense. _Probably both_, she decided.

As the buildings passed from view, the rumbling of the engine began to slow. The boat coasted, then a gentle helm correction turned the craft toward a dock. As they closed the distance, Minh took in more details. A low pier jutted out from the dock. Like the dock at the promontory, the pier was mounted on floats. At the landward side, a ramp connected it to the dock. Supported by pillars, the dock was higher than the pier.

Standing on the pier were two Elementals. She had not seen them before. Wearing reddish-brown desert camouflage jump suits, each wore a red sash across his chest. As the boat closed with the pier, she was able to pick up more details. They were not of Clan Wolf. In place of the wolf's head, these two Elementals had patch bearing a red horse head with a flaming mane.

A fiery horse?

Minh remembered the trial in the Fort Bivouac Meeting Hall. She had learned that another clan, two of them in fact, had expressed an interest in taking her bond from the Wolves. One of those clans were the Hell's Horses. These Elementals were waiting for her. They were going to take her away from her friends.

_Over my dead body!_ Minh promised herself.

Minh stood, supporting herself against the deck house. She did not trust her own footing on the moving deck.

A crewman strode to the bow and knelt on the deck, taking one end of the flaked line in hand. As the boat approached the pier, Minh could not help realizing that the crewman was facing the wrong way. The pier was on the other side of the boat behind him. Before she had time to puzzle together what she had noticed, the boat engine revved up for a moment, driving foamy water forward. Then the engine revved again and the rear of the boat swung away from the pier.

With the pivoting of the boat, Minh returned her attention to the Elementals. The look they favored her did not waver.

The boat revved one last time, directing the craft pier side. The crewman had been on the correct side of the boat after all. He nimbly hopped onto the pier as the boat's hull bumped into it. Minh could feel the jar of the collision.

"You're not supposed to let us hit!" the boat captain called out.

"It's okay! There is no damage to the hull!" the crewman called back, a sheepish look on his face. A look of distaste appeared on the face of one of the Elementals waiting on the pier. He was obviously offended by the use of contractions spoken by the boat crew.

At another time, Minh might have been amused by the antics. She chose to ignore them to concentrate on the Elementals.

Farther back on the boat, Anton nudged Batiste and motioned his head toward Minh. They could see that the bondswoman was looking healthier than when she first boarded the boat, but she was clearly not happy.

In the meantime, the crew had moored the boat to the pier. The boat captain reported to Batiste that they could disembark from his boat at their convenience. Batiste only nodded in reply as he watched Minh.

"Wolf bondswoman Minh!" one of the red sash Elementals called out. "You will come with us now!"

"No."

Minh stepped to the side of the boat, facing the new men. Her body was languid as she relaxed into a posture of readiness. In response, the two Elementals stepped apart in an obvious attempt to give themselves room to defend themselves. Their words proved to her mind that she was being traded away. To Minh, these Elementals seemed perceptively smaller than Wolf Elementals.

"She thinks she can take them," the boat captain murmured, amusement in his voice.

"She could," Anton replied.

"If we let her," Batiste agreed, then he raised his voice to get Minh's attention. "Minh."

"Aff," Minh did not look away from her opponents.

"The Elementals are going to escort you to the meeting hall," he explained. "Go with them."

Minh was silent for a moment, then she pointed at the red sash Elementals.

"Wait for me," she instructed them. The two men looked surprised by the firm tone of command in her voice. Turning, she walked back to her team of Elementals. They could tell she was concealing her limp by the careful way she moved.

"If I never see you again," Minh began, then her voice broke off upon seeing their perplexed expressions.

"Are you planning on leaving us again?" Keller asked.

"Only against my will," Minh answered, sparing the new pair of Elementals a dismissive glance. Keller chuckled and she looked to him with a strange look in her eye.

"Thank you, Keller," she bowed to him. Seeing his puzzlement, she continued. "Thank you for first aid this morning. I feel better now." Her voice conveyed a sense of friendliness that had not been present before.

"You are my comrade in arms," Keller acknowledged.

"Aff," Minh said softly. She looked at the remaining men with her. "I wish to thank all of you. Thank you for what you have done to help me succeed."

"Why do you tell us now?" Wendal asked.

"In case I cannot later," Minh gave the Hell's Horses Elementals another measuring glance.

"You believe you will be going somewhere?" Anton probed.

"The inquisitor at the meeting hall told me that another clan might claim me," Minh explained. "It is not my wish to leave Clan Wolf."

_I would rather die_, she thought, her eyes narrowing with determination. As if reading her thoughts, Batiste spoke up.

"I will personally get you back, should that happen," he rumbled. "Let them train their own bondswoman." The other Elementals added their own oaths.

"Now go with these Elementals," Batiste directed her.

"I will make you proud," she promised. She bowed once more, then turned toward the pier and hopped down from the boat. She was out of earshot when Anton spoke quietly.

"You have already made us proud."

"She is not that small," Keller muttered thoughtfully. Anton turned to stare at him. The red haired Elemental was still watching Minh with more than his usual interest.

"It is not what you think," Anton says. "Minh is acquainted with many men. She associates with the cooks, Rick the MechWarrior, and that tech she beat up months ago."

Keller gave a rueful smile, then shrugged.

"I was just thinking that she is not that small."

Minh and the two Elementals had reached the head of the pier and walked up the ramp to the dock. A truck was parked there. Nagatake and Don were waiting to transport the point's equipment. Minh paused to talk to them before accompanying her escorts away from the lake front.

xxxXxxXxxx

It had taken them almost half an hour to reach the meeting hall. Her escort had remained silent during the walk. It was not the first time that she had been escorted by two Elementals. As she recalled, she was barefoot that first time. She was also hard pressed to keep up with their strides in the ship. However, these two were satisfied to let Minh set the pace. Their curiosity was obvious by the way they kept looking at her. She could imagine the stories they would have heard about her.

She was not entirely unfamiliar with the Hell's Horses Clan. Having spent the majority of her time with warriors, she had learned that the clans were culturally diverse. The descriptions she had heard included terms such as 'clan-like' or 'unorthodox', 'permissive' or 'restrictive', and in a rare instance, the degrading 'dezgra'. It all depended on the clan being discussed. Each clan had their own tactics on the field of battle. She understood the Hell's Horses to have an unconventional bent of mind, which may have been a reason why they had failed in their bid to participate in the recently surceased invasion of the Inner Sphere.

Upon reaching the hall, the only people in sight were warriors. Many seemed to be posted around the building, armed only with radios. Minh wondered if their purpose was to keep undesirable individuals away or to keep her from leaving.

The main doors to the building's interior were closed with a pair of sentries guarding it. Upon observing the bondswoman and her escort arrive, one of them spoke into her radio. These two seemed to be conventional infantry. Wearing gray camouflage field fatigues with a clan badge on their right shoulders. The badge proclaimed their clan affiliation. It displayed a white bear head surrounded by six paws arranged in a wheel around it. Clan Ghost Bear.

That was the other clan that had expressed interest in Minh.

At Minh's approach, the two warriors opened the doors. The interior seemed dim to her eyes. Her escort stopped short of the doorway. Minh stopped a moment later. The warriors at the door regarded her silently.

She looked up at her escort. Reading their body language, she could see that they were preparing to force her into the meeting hall.

"I know the way," she said, forestalling their action. She turned from them and walked into the door. No sooner has she entered the building than the doors suddenly closed.

With the doors closed, Minh was in complete darkness. She immediately stopped and listened. The absence of air movement combined with the inky blackness around her. Minh felt as if she were being closed in and restricted. Her sense of paranoia, at times in the recent past a welcome bolster to her natural caution, assailed her perception. Someone could be standing less than a meter away from her and she would not know it.

She could hear nothing at first, but she could sense she was not alone. She estimated that the hall could hold at least a thousand individuals. Over her head she could now hear the air circulation system pump air through the building. Using her memory, she recalled the interior arrangement of the hall.

Minh stood in the corridor to the doors. She knew that on either side of her were the walls that separated benches for the spectators. From the doors, the corridor led to the open floor where the stage was located.

Having been directed into the building, she knew that she had to proceed forward into the darkness. With no light, she was unwilling to stumble blindly about. The darkness reminded her of her efforts the previous night. As she had climbed the cliff in darkness, she had sought to remain silent. She could feel her heart beat faster.

That desire to remain silent returned to her. The ferro-crete floor felt cool to her bare feet. Without shoes, it was simple for her to creep sideways without making noise. Almost. She could hear the cloth of her coveralls rub against her skin as she moved. Her outstretched hand made contact with the wall. Getting close, she carefully reached forward and kept two fingertips on the wall. She eased forward with shallow steps, letting her feet feel the floor. Unless someone was watching with a night vision device, no one would see her. It was likely that they would be using a trigger of some sort to reveal her location. Having been admitted in the door, the occupants of the building already knew she had arrived.

In addition to the air recirculating system, Minh began to sense the presence of others. Many others. The air was heavy with their breathing. Something hardly detectable with ambient background noise. Someone close by shifted their seat on a bench. To Minh, the atmosphere felt like an expectant hush.

Reaching the other end of the corridor, she ran out of wall. Her ears straining, she could detect a change in the atmosphere. Away from the funnel effect of the corridor, the volume of noise seemed to decrease. However, the sound of her pulse was loud in her ears. Her ankle was hurting her again, throbbing in time with her pulse. With the pain came a renewed sense of danger. The strain of trying to remain silent was making her legs tremble with weakness.

She took a deep breath, then silently released it. She needed to remain calm. Not knowing which direction she was required to proceed in, she chose to remain in one place. She would wait for someone else to make the next move. Minh let her eyes wander in the dark, attempting to discover a shadow or other shape.

Light flooded downward, the light fixture above the mouth of the corridor making a snapping noise as it energized. The sudden flash blinded Minh with its brightness and her eyes watered. Squinting, she noticed a figure standing in the center of the illuminated area. A slender man dressed in an manner than appeared more ceremonial than utilitarian. His MechWarrior shorts classified him as a pilot of the giant war machines, but the manner of his attire was unconventional. Dark knee-high boots made of leather had stylized stripes and designs carved and tinted into the material. Matching gloves covered his hands, the wide cuffs folded partly back over the upper hand. The jerkin, made to resemble a MechWarrior's cooling vest, was worn open on his torso. The most incredible piece of attire was the mask that covered the man's face.

Not of leather, the lacquered black mask was in the form of a wolf's face. The eyes of the wolf were dark with a hint of red. The bared teeth shone with a silver gleam.

Unconsciously, Minh turned to face the man, prepared to attack. In response, the man held his hand out, the palm toward her.

Minh relaxed. Her eyes had begun to adjust to the light. She wondered if she knew the MechWarrior.

The man turned his hand at the wrist, folding the fingers into the palm as he waved her forward. Minh felt herself become compelled to follow as he began to step backwards, his boots scraping the floor in mid-step. His cautious manner in facing her seemed familiar.

_Rick?_

Yes, it was the MechWarrior Rick. He was leading her in the direction of the stage. Following him, the two headed away from the illumination.

The room plunged into darkness, then a new light buzzed into being directly behind Rick. Minh barely had time to register that fact before the MechWarrior raised a hand as if to barricade passage from one side. At the same time, Minh heard a scrape from that direction. A figure was racing out of the darkness, an arm upraised with a long implement in hand.

The attacker seemed to be rushing between Rick and Minh. Without conscious thought, she pivoted into the path of the runner. Fending off the implement with her forearm to protect her head, she doubled over and jabbed her other elbow into attacker's ribs. Staggering forward from the impact imparted by the body's momentum, she seized the armed wrist of the attacker and dropped to one knee. The attacker flipped over her shoulder.

At that moment, she got a good look at the implement. A saber. She removed it from the man's stunned grasp and stepped away. Her arm felt cool and, when she looked, saw that there was a slice in the sleeve from elbow to wrist. Vexed, she peered into the hole, but was relieved to see no matching cut in her flesh. Minh felt herself become angry.

Her trial was supposed to be completed!

She noticed that Rick was waving his arms in front of himself. Once he was sure he had her attention, he shook his head and pointed at the sword.

She was obviously not supposed to have the bladed weapon.

Was this some sort of ceremony? Rick had not spoken. Neither had her attacker. Dressed in similar manner to Rick, the prone man watched her warily, one hand to his ribs. The wolf mask made him resemble a wounded animal.

Yes, she was armed now. Still angry at having been attacked, she regarded the saber. A part of her considered returning it to the attacker.

No, she would not do that. She looked back towards the corridor from where she had come. She was sure that no one had slipped back behind her.

Squatting down, she held the blade in a horizontal position, then flung it along the floor back toward the main doorway.

Rising, Minh turned and faced Rick once more. With a 'come along' hand gesture, he backed into the center of the circle of light. Minh had to skirt around the attacker to follow him.

Immediately, Rick held up his other hand. An attacker was approaching from the other side.

_I am not in the mood for this_! Minh thought savagely.

She faced the new attacker. This one had seen what she had done the first time. As she turned, he tried to stop. His booted feet skidded on the smooth ferro-crete floor. He had not quite halted his forward motion when Minh took a step forward. She kicked with her uninjured leg, catching the new attacker in the midriff. Her heel sank into his stomach and he fell back, his sword clattering to the floor with a keen ringing sound. He promptly curled up on his side, hugging his mid-section.

_What kind of ceremony is this?_

A twinge of pain arced up her injured leg. It had been the strain of supporting her body when she had kicked with her other leg. She felt something fall onto her top of her foot. She resisted the urge to look down as she understood what had happened. The bandage that Keller had applied to her ankle was unraveling.

Minh faced Rick once more. The MechWarrior just stood there motionless, watching her with his arms crossed over his chest. His stern stance seemed to convey disapproval.

_I am not the one who got her butt kicked_, Minh raised her chin triumphantly. Rick shook his head in resignation.

The two proceeded again. Minh had her back to the illuminated area, expecting the light to go out. Rick was almost in darkness when he stopped and held his hand out.

Another attack.

Minh turned to meet the attacker, but she could not see nor hear him. A few heartbeats passed, then she heard a ringing clatter. This attacker had just yielded to her.

She heard a brief choking noise from Rick. She looked to him. Though almost completely shrouded in darkness, she could see him tremble for a moment. It took her a moment to realize that he was trembling with suppressed laughter.

Rick quickly regained control of his composure. Turning his body until only one side was to Minh, he pointed with his far arm in the direction in which they had been traveling. At that moment, the light behind her extinguished and a new light came on. This light was farther away, illuminating a standing figure on the stage.

Having no mask, Minh knew him without a doubt. It was her bondholder Keen. His muscular figure was shrouded in shadow cast by the cloak draped over his shoulders. Like Rick, he was adorned in leather accouterments. His shorts were not too unlike those worn by MechWarriors. Made of an earth-gray fabric, the material matched the taut tunic that covered his upper arms and torso. Instead of wearing boots, sandals were laced to his feet. In addition, he wore a small knife at one hip. The sheathed weapon hung from his belt by its lacings.

Minh walked toward the stage. A spotlight snapped on and illuminated her progress. Reaching the stairs, she moved to step up with her injured leg. Muscular pain shot up her leg when she used it to pull her weight up it. Until she encountered the stairs, she had managed to conceal her limp. The sudden murmuring from the unseen watchers made her feel self conscious about her mincing gait. The sound was not loud, but it was obvious that it was being uttered by many voices.

Tightening her lips, she clambered the rest of the way onto the stage. Watching Keen, his impassive expression betrayed nothing to her, yet she could tell that he saw her discomfort. At the top of the stairs, she paused and straightened her spine proudly.

_Yes, I am hurt. Do what you will. I am ready_.

She was not surprised to see his approval.

Keen had observed her motion. Familiar with her technique, he noted that her method was less fluid and more deliberate. Her arrival on the stairs confirmed his suspicions that she was concealing that she had been hurt. The strength of her kick and her ferocious display had effectively camouflaged her impairment.

Nonetheless, Minh looked pale, the faint scar on her throat standing out in contrast. As the bondswoman came closer, he could see that she saw his ribbon. Fashioned not unlike a medal, it had Minh's Draconis Combine militia gunso collar insignia mounted on a medallion. He had it made especially for this ceremony. The recognition of his triumph over her in combat was meant to honor Minh. Watching for her reaction, he wondered if she would understand the honor of it.

One side of Minh's mouth twitched.

He looked into her dark eyes. Emotionless as glass, he saw nothing else that he could decipher as a response. She stopped well out of his arm reach and he observed her attention drop to the knife suspended from his belt.

Minh noted that the handle was wrapped with braided silver wire. A modestly embellished leather sheath encased the blade. She was sure that she recognized the leather work from a shop she had seen outside of the base. Standing within Keen's circle of light, she was unaware that the spotlight that had followed her progress had been extinguished.

"Trothkin, seen and unseen, near and far, living and dead," Keen spoke out, his voice reaching out into the dark recesses of the hall. It seemed as if he were reciting a formula. "Witness the passage of this candidate that stands before us now!"

Keen paused, as if waiting for a response from the darkness. Only silence answered him. His voice rumbling with challenge, he continued.

"I am the Oathmaster. All will be bound by this conclave, until they are dust and memory, and then into the time beyond all reckoning."

"Seyla."

That single word was uttered by scores of voices. Startled, Minh glanced to the side toward the audience area. She had felt their presence ever since she had entered the building, but the sudden confirmation had been unexpected. At least Minh had not expected it. Keen had a look of appeasement from the response to his challenge.

_Seyla_. Minh wondered if she should have said that word. Just as the question occurred to her, she decided to remain silent. If she had been required to say anything, someone would have instructed her before sending her into the hall.

_Candidate? What kind of trial is this?_

Keen continued with the ceremony.

"Those that follow the Way of the Wolf understand the way of the warrior. Those that fail to see the wisdom of the Wolf are doomed to failure. Who will voice doubt that this pup is worthy to live the Way of the Wolf?"

Keen's tone was almost insulting, as if he were getting his own back against those he was referring to. From the beginning of her ordeal, Minh knew that he had faced opposition for making her his bondswoman. Now the time of reckoning had come.

A figure joined them in the circle of light. A woman wearing a red jacket with black leather trim and matching trousers. The jacket was held closed with a single pentagonal gold button. Underneath she wore a high-necked black undershirt. About her waist was a black belt from which a rapier was suspended. The sword had a simple brass pommel and hand guard. On the right collar of the jacket was the MechWarrior's insignia of rank, in this case a star commander. A pair of black leather gloves, arranged palm to palm, were tucked into the belt. Black shoes completed her ensemble. The fact that she only wore the dress uniform was an insult. Keen knew that Hell's Horses did not wear swords with their ceremonial attire. She also did not wear the horse head mask. That she chose not to don the ceremonial garb of her clan communicated a message of disapproval. He knew that her clan had been prepared to bid on the bondswoman. Had they wanted the bondswoman that badly? The MechWarrior's haughty expression confirmed Keen's silent question.

"I recognize thee, Margut of the Hell's Horses."

"I see death for this whelp. Aye, death I see." At the woman's pronouncement, Minh shifted herself defensively. A murmur rose briefly from the darkness, approving of Minh's willingness to face the armed warrior. Keen decided that, if Margut was going to be arrogant enough to bring her sword to this ceremony, she deserved to get her butt kicked. It would not have surprised him to know that his thought process seemed to echo Minh's thoughts.

"Who among the Wolves would deny this vision?" he spoke aloud.

From the other side of the circle of light a fourth figure arrived to face Margut. Also a women, she wore a grey vest with brown leather fasteners, gray MechWarrior shorts and brown leather boots. Draped over the back of her shoulders was a short two-tone gray cloak. Wearing a mask similar to Rick's, only the rear of her head was visible. Seeing the black braid of hair, Minh instantly knew her identity.

"I recognize thee, Salen of the Wolves," Keen intoned as the MechWarrior removed her mask. He observed that, while Margut displayed contempt, Minh looked annoyed at Salen's appearance.

"Oathmaster, it is my ken that this pup need fear nothing from the battlefield."

With a glance at Minh, Salen replaced her mask. A moment later, both she and Margut stepped out of the light.

A new figure joined Keen and Minh in the light. Once more, it was a woman. She wore a black mask in the shape of a cat face. The snout and lower jaw were dark gray, with white teeth exposed in a snarl. A brief black cloak with mottled gray stripes shrouded her shoulders and waist. Underneath the cloak the woman wore a matching vest and shorts not unlike those worn by MechWarriors. Dull black boots covered her shins with a guard extending up to protect the knees. The most striking feature were her hands. Each finger was adorned with a long silver cat claw. Looking carefully, Minh could see the translucent clips that kept the nails in place. Using the back of one hand, the woman raised the face of her mask, revealing almond-shaped eyes not unlike Minh's. For a moment, Minh was reminded of the woman she had seen on occasion at the base. This was not that person.

"I recognize thee, Tetra of the Nova Cats."

"Oathmaster, I ken death from the skies for this pup. Aye, it is death I see."

The woman did not have the physical appearance that Minh associated with AeroSpace Pilots. For one thing, she was considerably taller than Minh. Her cranium looked no different from those not genetically engineered. Her slender build displayed the firm tone of the physically fit.

"Who among the Wolves would deny this vision?" Keen called out.

Again, there was a fourth arrival. A small man, barely larger than Minh, wearing a helmet with a face plate shaped like the visage of a wolf. With jaws shaped in a feral grin, the face gave the appearance of enjoying the thrill of the chase. Wearing a form fitting tan-colored body suit and draped in a tan and gray-trimmed cloak, Minh had no doubt about this man's identity before he removed his helmet.

"I recognize thee, Stev Ch'in of the Wolves."

"Oathmaster, it is my ken that this wolfling need fear nothing from the sky. Nay, not from the sky."

Stev spared Minh a warm look before putting his helmet back on. With both AeroSpace Pilots thus masked once more, the two faded back into the darkness.

There was no mistaking the looming physique that joined them next. As large as Keen, this Elemental was garbed in a simple black body suit. His cloak, reaching almost to his feet was of pale-colored fur with blue highlights. Over his head was a white helmet shaped like a bear's head. Fierce eyes were inset in the forehead. A short snout extended the brim above the simple black visor that covered the wearer's own eyes. From the snout and on either side of the man's chin were stylized gold fangs.

Minh stared at the helmet in fascination as the Elemental removed it.

"I recognize thee, Buck of the Ghost Bears."

"Oathmaster, I ken death by hand for this pup. Aye, it is death I see."

He spoke as if he were uncertain of the validity of his words. Minh raised her chin in response, showing no doubt that she was willing to give as good as she got.

"Who among the Wolves would deny this vision?" Keen repeated this mantra.

Minh had been curious as to the Elemental that would come to her support. She did not have long to wait. The sturdy build could belong to any of the female Elementals of Clan Wolf, but only one had a platinum braid of hair that glistened silver in the spot light. In Minh's view, the woman looked dashing with her dark gray cloak was draped over her left side. Underneath she wore a light gray body suit that left stopped short of her elbows and knees. Sandals were laced to her feet. She reached up and took off her dark gray wolf mask.

"I recognize thee, Callista Murphy of the Wolves."

Since removing her wolf mask, Callista had kept her eyes on Minh. Now, even though she was speaking to Keen, she did not take her attention from the smaller woman.

"Oathmaster, it is my ken that this one need fear nothing from the hand. Nor, apparently, from anything residing in our domain."

Keen looked from Callista to Minh. He did not understand why the Elemental had strayed from the ceremonial formula.

Not that this ceremony was customary. Not in the least. For example, the Oathmaster...

Keen was the Oathmaster by default. Traditionally, the ceremonial position was assumed by the oldest Bloodnamed warrior present. That honor was declined by every Bloodnamed warrior at the base. Most of them did not wish to taint themselves by validating this controversial bondswoman.

Only two Bloodnamed warriors were willing to participate at all. Keen was surprised when Callista Murphy approached him about the matter. She freely admitted having voted against Minh at the investigation. The bondswoman's martial prowess against techs and MechWarriors could hardly be thought exemplary. However, should she prove herself against Elementals, Callista would take part in the ceremony, but not as Oathmaster. This had been Keen's issue after all, so it would be appropriate for him to bring this affair to conclusion, regardless of the fact that he had no Bloodname.

Regarding Steve Ch'in, it had been a foregone conclusion that he would be willing to validate Minh. The AeroSpace pilot had long since demonstrated his eccentricities by his association with Minh. In fact, Minh was not his only bonded acquaintance. He had made no secret of his interest to learn about other non-clan cultures. All aspects, like language and economy, not just militaristic subjects. A very unnatural mind set for a clan warrior. Despite that, Keen respected the steadfastness of his attitude.

Still watching Minh, Callista stepped aside. Behind her, a group of Elementals appeared. It was Keen's point, with Batiste at the lead. In his hands he carried the head of the snake that Minh had slain. The other Elementals behind him gingerly carried the attached skin of the beast. The scales reflected hues of blue, green, and a bit of red.

Callista saw the look in the bondswoman's eyes as she relived the fight for her life. Looking at the dead serpent, the small woman had displayed surprise at seeing it in the meeting hall. Then, surprise gave way to an expression of satisfaction. Batiste had told her that Minh had killed the snake with her bare hands. Afterwards she had wanted to eat the snake and had actually eaten some of it with great gusto. A proper life affirming action in Callista's opinion. She regarded the little person in a new light.

Buck, the Ghost Bear Elemental, cleared his throat. Minh looked up into his pale blue eyes. Seeing that he had her attention, he gave her a simple nod, then returned his helmet to his head and stepped back out of the light.

Minh returned her gaze to Keen's point, wondering for a moment how they had entered the hall without her seeing them. She would have noticed the flood of light from the main doors opening. They had also coordinated their actions with Callista. Remembering Nagatake and Don in the truck at the dock, she realized that the team had gotten to the meeting hall ahead of her while she had walked.

Keen waited for the others to withdraw from the light, then he looked down at Minh.

"Minh," he said. According to ceremony, he was to refer to her as "pup", but he could not bring himself to do so after seeing the carcass. In all actuality, he had never seen a snake before. At least, not the large ones that inhabited the lake here. This was the first snake that most, if not all, of the warriors present had seen as well. No doubt some of these warriors would test their mettle by trying to find one. After all, if Minh could do it...

"Minh," he repeated, seeing the young woman look to him. "Three times you have been challenged. Three times defenders have risen to meet those challenges. Sponsored by the Wolf, warded by the clan, all is in order."

Reaching down to his belt, he drew the small knife.

"Present your right hand," he held his left hand out to her as he closed the distance between them.

Obediently, Minh complied, her attention never wavering from the blade in Keen's right grip. She relaxed the muscles in her body, her feet shifting in readiness to defend herself. Taking her hand within his, Keen could feel her responding to his action. He made a soothing noise deep in his throat, the sound traveling no farther than Minh's own ears.

Keen slipped the knife between Minh's wrist and the white bondcord. The side of the blade felt cold to her skin.

"This marked you as a bondswoman, but you have the heart, the mind, the soul of a warrior. The Wolf has seen this. I, the Oathmaster, proclaim this truth."

Turning the blade with the edge to the bondcord, he pulled back on the knife, cutting the cord from Minh's wrist. She watched the woven symbol of her servitude fall to the floor. Her mind momentarily blank, she was unaware of what Keen did next.

Slipping the handle of the knife into her palm, he close her hand around it. He kept his own hand around hers and waited for her to react. He was well aware of her aversion to fighting knives.

This was one knife that she must keep.

Awareness came an instant later. Her arm flexed as she attempted to fling the blade away from her, but the Elemental's grip prevented any such movement. Her dark eyes narrowed as she looked into his face seeking an explanation.

"This is your honor blade," Keen intoned in a low rumble. "You will keep it."

_My honor or my blade?_ Minh thought. _Without my personal honor, I am nothing._

Keen knew how strongly she felt about her own honor and virtue. He felt her arm relax as she surrendered to his persuasion. Still keeping his grip on her, he raised Minh's arm up and faced the darkness around them.

"Let us rejoice and let pride sing out!" Keen's voice thundered. "There is a new wolf in the pack!"

A chorus of voices reverberated within the meeting hall. The sound seemed to come from all sides. Still unseen in the dark, Minh imagined that the audience completely surrounded them.

Lowering Minh's arm, Keen released her and pointed to an area at their side. A spotlight illuminated a standing figure. It took Minh a moment to identify it. An Elemental in power armor. Lacking only the short range missile launcher shoulder pack, it was still lethal. Armed with a machine gun, a small laser, and claw, it was capable of making short work of her.

Minh's mind raced. _Another trial? I have to fight him now? With this knife?_

"Time is now short," Keen explained. "In previous times a warrior would be trained before being placed by Trial of Position."

As Keen spoke, Minh noticed that the power armor was completely motionless. In fact, it was leaning back against a black backdrop. It only appeared to be standing. Painted in a dull gray finish, the only insignia was the numeral six stenciled onto one shoulder. She was aware that there were only five members in an Elemental point.

_Six? Could it be possible? No, Batiste told me..._ She remembered his stern admonition, that she would never be allowed to wear power armor.

Without consciously thinking about it, she moved closer to the suit. It appeared to be different from the suits her Elementals wore. The trunk seemed abbreviated. The legs were longer with the knees higher than normal.

Minh stood in front of the suit, looking up at it, unaware of the passage of time. It was the silence that brought her back to reality. She tried to remember what Keen had been saying.

"As in times past, sometimes it had been necessary to use actual battle to place a warrior," Keen had said. "That is the case now. Minh Wolf will accompany my point into combat."

As the words sank in, she became aware the ceiling lights had come on. Looking about herself, she saw that she was surrounded by her acquaintances. Looking at the group of warriors, she found Batiste.

"You told me I would not be allowed to wear power armor," she said accusingly.

"Your memory is selective," Batiste rejoined. "What I said was that '_bondswomen_ could not wear power armor'." With that, he nodded his head to a place behind Minh. She turned and looked to where she had been standing with Keen. At that spot was the cut bondcord. She then looked at her wrist. It felt strange not to be wearing the cord. She still held the silver knife with the wire wrapped handle.

"You may wish to put your blade away," Keen held the sheathe out to her. With deliberate care Minh slipped the knife into it, then Keen respectfully took the knife from her hands and fastened it to her belt with the cords.

That weight on her belt felt peculiar. In her consideration, having the weapon dangling by the short cords was impractical. It could easily catch on things around her and provide a potential adversary a handhold on her. Looking down at it, she decided that the arrangement was more ceremonial than functional. It looked much too nice to be worn with her jumpsuit. In any event, she would put the knife away someplace where she would not have to look at it all the time. Perhaps in the back of her locker behind her other things.

Thinking of her locker, Minh recalled another admonition. The one that Keen had declared against her when she admitted to opening the locker containing his armor suit.

Her life would be forfeit should she touch his armor.

Minh stepped to the armor. She marveled that this piece of equipment was for her. Like the original suits it was designed from, it stood almost twice as tall as herself.

_Is this what Keen and Don were so secretive about?_

She reached out and placed her fingertips on one armored knee. The metal felt cool to the touch. Tilting her head, Minh looked at Keen in a sidelong manner.

_Hm. Yes, this one is mine._

As if reading her mind, Keen gave her a solemn nod.


	16. Chapter 14

The Littlest Elemental - Chapter Fourteen by D G Palmer/

Fort Bivouac

Strana Mechty, Beyond the Periphery

16 August 3051

The alarm had been buzzing for several minutes, a harsh, strident sound in the dark room. Minh had barely registered the noise, her mind mired in deep sleep. The previous two days had exhausted her. The death defying trial, the cryptic ceremony, and the liberating celebration afterwards had left her physically drained. Falling asleep so fast, she remembered little beyond lying down in her newly assigned bed.

Ignoring the alarm, Minh thought back to the previous afternoon.

The end of the Adoption Ceremony had only been the start of the day's activities. In a voice carrying to all in attendance while keeping his attention on Minh, Keen had declared, "Now we will feast and celebrate, for tomorrow we train!"

Before departing the hall, Keller had made her sit down on the stage with her feet dangling over the side. Standing on the floor below, he tugged her jumper leg up and refastened the unraveled bandage around her ankle.

Leaving the building, she discovered that a few trucks had arrived. The warriors previously serving as witnesses to Minh's adoption were engaged in unloading the trucks and taking their loads into the nearby tree-filled park. Soon, the smell of roasting meat wafted freely in the air. Minh's nausea that morning was all but forgotten.

The beat of drums served to guide various warriors to a clearing in the center of the park. Rick, minus his mask, had quickly taken her in hand and led her to the clearing. Before she knew it, she was standing among the other warriors where the rhythm of the drums dictated their movement. Finding herself dancing to the beat with Rick, she likened the feeling to being in a dream. Keller soon stepped in, which she found to be not at all uncommon. All of the dancing warriors switched partners around her. She observed that dancing in the clan was more social than proprietary between the participants.

She found herself facing Keen at one point. Despite the curious feeling in her stomach, she managed to prance and sway in company with the large man.

Thinking back on it now, Minh was disturbed by her own shameless behavior. The way she had allowed her body to move with the cadence of the drum beats. There was no way anyone could possibly ignore her rhythmic dance. It was as if she were daring everyone to watch. The interest in the eyes of the men seemed to add encouragement to her efforts. Moving with wild abandon, she was hardly her modest and reclusive self.

Her favorite part of the afternoon happened when she saw the drums for the first time. Rather than employ musicians, it was the warriors themselves that were performing. One such drummer set aside his drum sticks and entered the social melee at the invitation of one of the dancers. It was indeed a very friendly event.

The warrior playing next to the relinquished drum caught Minh's attention. Setting the beat for the other drummers, it was the woman that she had seen from the base: the one that reminded her of Consuela, her childhood friend.

Without further thought, Minh had gone to the abandoned drum and took up the sticks. The other woman regarded her warily, an unusual reaction in Minh's opinion. Watching the woman carefully, she joined in, matching strike for strike on the drum.

When she was younger, she had wanted to participate in taiko drumming. Her mother disapproved, explaining that proper young ladies did not engage in such public spectacles. Minh had argued that her father expected her to work in the field. How was it that conduct different? She had failed to discern the difference. In the end, her mother had her way. Her father was unhappy with her too, feeling that his elder offspring was being disrespectful towards the other field workers by complaining.

Without consciously realizing it, she began to take control of the beat. Developing her own rhythm, she challenged the other woman to a duel with drums. Feeling playful, she rejoiced in the competition as they took turns setting the beat.

It was the drumming that she remembered most, that and eating afterwards. Minh was sure that she had consumed two helpings, but she seemed to become incoherent after that.

Her muddled mind returned to the present. The alarm was no longer clamoring. She remembered hearing a brief groan after the alarm had stopped.

As Minh further awakened, another memory surfaced. She now shared a double room with another warrior. Minh's things had been moved into the room before she was even aware she had changed living quarters. The groggy protest she had just registered belonged to her roommate.

Normally, warriors of her novice rank would be assigned to an appropriate barracks with others of her kind. However, there were no novice Elementals on base and she was not exactly infantry. Her prospective Elemental status allowed her to share a billet in an infantry platoon leader's room.

Francen.

Minh sat up as she remembered the name of her roommate. She could not help smiling in her eagerness to begin her new life. Throwing off her blanket, she swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up. The activity caught Francen's attention and she looked over at Minh.

"Ohayoh!" she piped up, marveling at how this woman resembled her friend Consuela with dusky skin tone and straight dark hair clipped straight across her eyebrows. Neatly pinned up the day before, it now reached below her shoulders. In her excitement, she forgot that this woman would not understand Japanese. Consuela's only language was Japanese. She did not understand Tieng Viet though her ancestors were from Vietnam.

"Shut up!"

Obviously, Francen was not a morning person.

A thought came unbidden to Minh's tongue and she almost spoke out loud. She had heard the observation given to some of the grumpy mannered women in the barracks that were slow to wake. Unfamiliar with this woman, Minh bit back the remark, holding her lips tightly shut. She did not know how she would react to the joking. She turned away to make her bed.

"What was that look?" Francen was out of her bed, surprisingly quick for someone unwilling to wake up. An instant later, she had a hand on Minh's arm and turned her back around.

Minh lifted her arm to break the hold. The lightning quickness of her move was met by a block. The rapidity of Francen's response triggered Minh's well-honed instinct of self-defense. A flurry of blows and counter blows were exchanged as the women parried with forearms, the slapping of bare skin loud in the room. After several moments, the women realized what was happening. They mutually took a step back and eyed each other warily.

_How did we get started in this?_ Minh wondered. Aloud, she said, "You are good."

In her mind, she still saw her childhood friend. Her friend had never demonstrated any martial prowess. Being unladylike, women at home were not encouraged to fight.

"You too."

Francen's response was not grudging. It was a simple acknowledgment. Minh had a notorious reputation on the base. In that light, Francen could easily have disregarded the smaller woman.

"I think I would like to train against you sometime."

"Yes," Minh agreed simply.

"Making friends, I see."

The two women looked to the door. Batiste had opened the door, but had not fully entered the room.

"It is customary to knock before entering," Francen admonished him fearlessly.

"It is not prudent to knock when the inhabitants are fighting," Batiste declared with the usual brutally honest Elemental logic.

"We were not fighting," Minh explained. The other two warriors stared at her, not sharing her opinion. She looked at each in turn, not in challenge but with humor. "We were getting acquainted."

"She is an Elemental, all right," Francen muttered to herself. Ignoring the other warriors, she turned to get dressed.

"Here," Batiste handed Minh a set of folded coveralls and a short stack of embroidered patches. "That jumpsuit has the badge on it, but you are going to have to get those sewed onto your other uniforms."

Minh examined the patches and discovered that they were a combination of unit badge and rank identification. The dominant feature was the numeral '6'. In tactical units, the clan normally used groups of five. In Minh's case, she had no proper assignment. For the sake of organization, she was listed in a supernumerary position.

"You can get that done later," Batiste continued. "Put those on and come with me."

Minh opened her mouth in objection. She needed to shower first.

"No," Batiste knew what she was going to say and turned her down, her protest unheard. "Get dressed now. We will have breakfast first, then go to the armory. You have a busy day today."

The armory could only mean that she would be training in her power armor. At least she hoped so.

With that realization in mind, she could not get dressed fast enough. She had lost her shoes the day before. She had also not been able to find her boots that had been misplaced at the infirmary. Under Batiste's impatient eye, she laced up a pair of sandals and quickly followed him out.

Minh's excitement had barely waned when she reached the armory after breakfast. She had expected to try on her suit and test it out. Instead, she found her new armor in pieces spread out all over the floor. No sooner had she entered the room when she received her first order.

"Take off your jumpsuit."

She found herself surprised by her own reticence. This was not a place where she expected to undress.

"We cannot fit you to your armor until you take your jumpsuit off," Batiste looked at her feet. "Those sandals come off too."

Batiste's pointed comment about her footwear made her think. At that moment she realized that, as a warrior, she was completely responsible for her own welfare. No one would make sure that she had all of her clothes. When he had arrived at her room that morning, he could not miss seeing the bruising on her leg. Since she returned from the lake, no one even suggested that she report to the infirmary...

That reminded her that she still had to get her boots from Katya.

Unzipping the coveralls, Minh shrugged them from her shoulders and peeled them down. Sitting on the floor, she unlaced the sandals and removed them. Tapping the bandage around her ankle, she looked up at Batiste.

"Leave that on for now," he replied. "If we have any fit issues, we will deal with it then."

The Elemental point proceeded to assist her in the fitting of the various components of her suit for proper adjustment.

As the others worked around her, Minh analyzed her feelings of discomfort. It was not the first time that she found herself undressed in the company of these men. Whether bathing or changing clothes, the difference this time was that she was now the center of attention. The Elementals gave no indication that they were thinking of anything beyond the fit of the different pieces of armor. As a former military officer in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery, Nagatake appeared fascinated by the armor. The tech Don also showed the appearance of preoccupation with the process of Minh's fitting.

Perhaps too preoccupied; his complexion was red and he refused to look her in the eye. Despite all the time they had worked together, he was not accustomed to seeing her undressed. Minh felt her own face become very warm at the realization of his discomfort.

She wished she had known this would happen. She could have worn her leotard and trunks. That thought occurred to her as she saw that Keller had noticed her embarrassment.

"I am not dressed for this," she replied to his curious look.

"You are not supposed to be dressed for this," Keller corrected her with a delighted smile.

Minh wanted to explain her preferred manner of undress, but the knowledge that warriors rarely explained themselves raised a conflict of emotion within her.

Keller waited, obviously expecting her to speak. The familiar look in her eyes revealed what she was thinking. Her lips were parted in preparation to continue their conversation. All activity paused in the armory as everyone watched the discourse between the two.

The internal conflict within Minh made her speechless. Wanting to speak, she had something to say, but the words would not come. Keller still waited for her to say something as he knelt almost face to face before her.

Unable to put thought to word, the stress proved too much for her. Minh laughed in Keller's face. She could not help herself. The Elemental raised his eyebrows, momentarily taken aback by her sudden reaction. Then he grinned at her, for such a laugh was worthy of a bold warrior.

"You have to be undressed. The armor cannot read your movement through clothing," Anton spoke up.

"If your armor is penetrated, there is less chance of infection as there is with fragments of clothing being forced into the wound," Wendal added.

Minh nodded in acknowledgment. With tension released by laughter, her blush faded. She had seen these Elementals put on their powered armor and was familiar with how little they wore while thus augmented. The surprising thing was that she had not considered her own state of dress while in her own suit.

The emotional outburst had settled Minh's discomfited manner. Achieving an inner calm, she was able to concentrate on the work that the Elementals were performing on her behalf.

With her mind occupied with her new duties, it had been late the next day before Minh was able to go to the infirmary to see Katya. Busy with a patient, Doc informed her that he had sent Katya out and she would return shortly.

Minh sat down, folding one leg up on the chair with her. Her ankle had been itching and she absently rubbed the bandage. Doc noticed her action from the corner of his eye.

"What happened to you now?" he asked.

"Snake bite," she replied blithely.

"I heard it was a big one," Doc's patient added.

"I see no sign of adverse reaction to antivenin."

Minh cocked her head quizzically at him.

"It's the shot they gave you for the venom," Doc explained. Then he gave a scowl that Minh could understand. The medication for any such shot would have come from the dispensary.

"No one gave me venom," she admitted.

"Venom is the poison. Antivenin is the treatment."

Minh turned her head to stare at the floor several feet away. She had an unhappy thought. The Elementals obviously knew about the lethal qualities of the snakes that inhabited the lake. That explained the concerned looks she saw when she washed herself after her trial. She could have died and yet they said nothing.

_Would my knowing have made any difference?_

_No_, Minh decided. She knew that such knowledge would have impacted adversely on her sense of accomplishment.

"Well, let me take a look," Doc had finished with his patient and gestured Minh to hop up on the examination table.

"Why didn't you see me right away?" he demanded, having unwrapped the bandage.

_Because no one told me to_, Minh thought, too ashamed to admit it out loud. She once again realized the change in her clan status. Being a warrior, it was her responsibility to report for medical attention.

Doc cleaned the damaged area and administered an antiseptic.

"Minh, are you all right?" Katya announced her arrival by asking after her friend.

Minh gave a dismissive shrug. Unsettled by the new knowledge that the snake that had bitten her was poisonous, she chose to bypass the question by explaining her original reason for her visit.

"I left my clothes here last time. I am here to pick them up.

"They're not here," Katya shook her head. "That horrid doctor took them when she left."

_Why would that doctor take my clothes? _Minh wondered. She mentally corrected herself. _She did not like me. She did not take them, she _stole _them!_

"The work on this bandage was pretty good. Keen did this?" Doc's observation broke Minh's private reverie.

"No, Keller did it." There was something in Minh's tone that made Katya look carefully at her friend.

"Keller performed first aid. Wendal heated my bath water. Batiste prepared breakfast. Anton..."

Minh's voice trailed off as she noticed the looks that Doc and Katya were giving her.

"I seem to be talking too much."

"You never talk too much," Doc said gruffly as he applied a new wrap to her ankle.

Despite her new status, his tongue was as acerbic as ever. Minh felt comfortable and reassured. Katya seemed concerned, though. That was typical of Katya. Both of these people had always been friends to her.

"Thank you," she said.

Following her visit to the infirmary, Minh went to the supply bunker. Upon explaining her problem, the stores keeper patiently explained the requisition process to her. Since she had been issued a partial uniform allotment as a bondswoman, she had to account for the uniform items she had lost. She would not be given new field issue nor boots until supply received the proper verification of loss from her unit commander. In her case, that would be Point Commander Keen.

Minh wondered out loud if Keen would require his commander to provide him with such documentation. The stores keeper took her literally, answering no. Since Keen was in a position of authority, he could provide his own documentation. At least for such sundry items as uniforms, that was. His armor and weapons were another matter, but that would be the province of ordnance, not supply.

With her head propped up on her hands, Minh lay on her bunk, her body wrapped in a towel. Her bare legs were bent at the knee with her ankles crossed over her towel-covered bottom. Having spent part of the afternoon on her scavenger hunt, she had just finished her shower and was studying her armor training manual.

She had been disappointed to discover that the showers in the warrior barracks were not equipped with hot air dryers. Apparently only the higher ranked warriors were entitled to that luxury. That one discrepancy had not taken away from the enjoyment of a vigorous hot shower. At present, however, she was puzzling over the logic system for the power augmentation of her suit.

_If the system is functioning properly why are there error signals?_ It did not make sense to her.

"Here she is."

Minh had not heard Francen enter the room. Hooking her hair behind one ear, she turned her head and looked up at her roommate. Seeing that Rick was with her, she raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"It is time for dinner. Let us eat."

"I am hungry," Minh said thoughtfully. Until it had been brought to her attention, she had not noticed the onset of hunger. She rose up to her knees and stepped down from her bed. As she approached the door, she saw Rick express surprise. Exasperation was on Francen's face.

"She makes a neat little package," a passerby said from the hallway.

_Little package?_ Minh puzzled at the term that seemed to have been directed at her.

"You will not dress first?" Rick asked.

Minh stopped and looked down at herself.

"Oh."

"We will wait outside," Rick stepped out into the hall. That had been the first time he had seen the mottled black and brown bruises around the small woman's leg. After giving Minh a meaningful look, Francen joined him.

After a few minutes, Rick looked at his watch.

"Perhaps we can meet her there," he said. "It wouldn't hurt her to miss a meal ..."

"She missed dinner last night. Her stomach kept me awake all night. She _is_ going to eat!" Francen interrupted him fiercely. She turned her head to the door. "What is keeping her?"

She went back into the room and uttered an exasperated sigh. Curious, Rick looked in. Minh was sitting on the bed. She was wearing field pants, but her shirt was still unbuttoned. She had returned to studying her manual.

"I understand it now!" she explained exultantly. "The error signal follows..."

"Good! You can tell us all about it." Francen gripped the smaller woman by the forearm and pulled her from the bed. "Tell us after you eat!"

"Give me just a few more minutes!" Minh looked back at her book, her hands fumbling with the buttons of her shirt. With Francen's grip on her arm, it was difficult for Minh to finish fastening her clothing. "I do not need to eat before I go to sleep. I can make up for it at breakfast."

"I cannot wait that long," Francen pulled the woman after her down the hallway.

"It surely cannot be that bad," Rick ventured.

"You sleep with her then," Francen snapped.

"No!" Minh piped up sharply, still occupied with a troublesome button.

At Rick's surprised expression, Francen was amused by his sense of rejection.

"I sleep alone," Minh continued, not seeing the unspoken reaction between the other two warriors.

"I wish," Francen muttered.

Before Minh could reply, her stomach gurgled.

"I thought you were kidding," Rick commented. He was satisfied that Minh's refusal had not been actually directed at him, but a pronouncement of her preferred sleeping arrangement.

Suddenly Minh jerked free. Francen whirled back, prepared to defend herself, but it was not necessary. Concentrating on her shirt, Minh was fastening the remaining buttons. Then she pulled the hem out in front of her and examined the line of buttons.

"Straight," she declared with satisfaction. Then she offered Francen her elbow. "You can drag me now."

"Never mind," Francen declined. "You can crawl for all I care, just as long as you eat before bed."

By the time they reached the dining facility, Minh was chattering in a companionable manner with Rick. Francen listened in silence, her pique with the other woman nonexistent. Minh's lack of shoes still caused notice from the other warriors. Not a critical need, since shoes were not necessary in Elemental power armor, after all.

Sitting together, Rick was beside Minh with Francen across the table. Silenced by the activity of eating, Minh became thoughtful. After consuming a few bites, she stopped with her fork poised over the tray. With eyes soft and lips parted slightly, she gazed unseeing across the room.

Francen had a string of vegetable caught between her molars and she played at it with her tongue, a look of annoyance on her face. Though facing Minh, she was too preoccupied to notice she had stopped eating.

Rick saw Francen's vexation and naturally assumed it originated with Minh. Looking at the smaller woman, it appeared that she was looking at someone.

_Does she know the effect she has on men with that expression? Obviously not, or she would not do it_, he thought. From his recent acquaintance with her, he knew that she would be embarrassed by the realization. In her view, such a display would be improper. Despite her familiarity with various men, she held herself aloof from intimate conduct.

_It is as if she does not realize the effect she has on men. If she knew what she was doing, she would be dangerous_, Rick thought. Then he amended the thought. _She_ is _dangerous_. The newly adopted warrior had faced three swordsmen while herself unarmed. _No, four swords if you count that stravag MechWarrior that brought her dress rapier. That idiot!_

What he remembered most was the look on Minh's face when she had downed the first swordsman. She had parried the blade with her arm, obviously thinking that her opponent was armed with a staff or club of some sort. The slice to her sleeve could have easily gone through her arm, neatly cleaving muscle from bone. The young woman was angry when she observed the damage to her jumpsuit, but she retained her self-control.

Minh's poise now was completely different, her expression unconsciously demure. Rick turned to see where Minh was looking. He saw a MechWarrior he knew. With tray in hand, he was looking for a seat and noticed Minh's apparent interest. Momentarily distracted, he bumped a table and spilled his tray on the floor with a loud clatter.

From the corner of his eye, Rick noticed Minh look down at her tray. Turning to her, he noticed her cheeks become deep red with embarrassment. He could not know that she had just been reminded of her own tray disaster not too long ago. He chuckled.

"You are laughing at me," Minh murmured in a hurt tone.

"I am laughing at him. He is not exactly the brightest pilot in the trinary."

"That is not a nice thing to say."

Rick looked at her. Discomfited, Minh had hunched down over her tray, her lips quivering. She seemed to have been shaken by what had just happened. He was about to respond when he noticed the curl at the corner of her mouth. He lowered his head to get a better look. It appeared that she was trying to keep herself from smiling. She tilted her face away, but not before he saw that she was losing that battle.

"You faker!" he accused jokingly, nudging her arm. Minh sputtered with suppressed laughter.

Francen rolled her eyes. Minh's foreign manner was incomprehensible to her.

"You are strange," she muttered in a sour tone.

Minh looked up at her. With fork raised, she paused before taking another mouthful.

"That is what Batiste says all the time," she replied, a twinkle in her dark eyes. She lowered her face and resumed eating.

"I do not know how he puts up with you."

"He is an Elemental," Minh said between chews, not looking up.

_She says that as if it explains everything_, Francen thought. Giving it a moment of additional consideration, she decided that it did.

The MechWarrior joined them, obviously interested in talking to Minh.

"You, you are Minh, quaff?"

"Aff," Minh regarded the newcomer with cool regard.

"You are the one that does that thing."

"Thing." Minh repeated tonelessly. Rick could not help but notice Francen's sudden sharp examination of Minh. He turned his attention from the platoon leader to the diminutive warrior. She seemed to have relaxed. In his mind, he thought of a fluid at rest. Having watched her train in hand to hand combat, he knew she was prepared to take offense at whatever slight she had just perceived.

"Aff, you are able to find things."

"Ah, I understand," Minh leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table, resting her chin on the back of clasped hands. She presented the very picture of polite interest.

Inside, her feelings warred with her outward calm. This was one of the warriors that had treated her with contemptuous disgust when she was a bondswoman. Keeping his distance, he had made no attempt to know her during that time. Now that she was of the warrior caste, he was approaching her as if she had not been beneath his notice before.

Rick had been the same way, but Minh had brought his antagonistic attitude upon herself. Not completely knowing why, he had become one of her small circle of acquaintances.

For an entirely different reason, this new MechWarrior had approached her. He wanted something. In her mind's eye, she imagined reaching across the table and pushing the man's tray into his lap. The fact that he would immediately attack her in outrage did not dismay her. She knew she could defeat this warrior. She would welcome the opportunity to put this man in his place.

She acknowledged her selfish need to reject this man. The mental cruelty of residing within the warrior society and yet being treated as part as an unwelcome presence had marked her inner soul. They did not know her as a person, only seeing the white cord she had worn on her wrist. She was considered a pitiable little creature no better than vermin.

In the hearts of these warriors, pity had no place.

Yet, at an intellectual level, Minh understood that their misconception of her was born of ignorance. To punish ignorance was a thoughtless act of revenge. Someone once said that the best revenge was to live well in spite of obstacles and wicked machinations of others. And besides, it was not her place to dictate the place of others in society.

He went on to explain that his tech had been unable to requisition a backup spare part for his OmniMech. He had been having trouble with the last two replacements. The newest part was functioning satisfactorily, but he wanted a backup on hand just in case he needed it. Under the rules of resupply followed by the clans, the stocking of extra parts at the maintenance level was considered wasteful. Minh could understand his vexation. After all, she had yet to discuss her problem of footwear with Keen.

She was familiar with his tech. He was one of the participants at the poker games she had been observing. She agreed to meet with the tech within the next day or so, as her duties allowed. The MechWarrior nodded peremptorily before turning his attention to the meal on his tray.

Minh was about to return to her own meal when she noticed Rick's concern. Even he could tell see that the other MechWarrior had been rude. He obviously expected Minh to demonstrate her displeasure at the imperious treatment. Instead, she surprised him with a little tolerant smile.

Rick recalled Minh's alluring look. It had been a very curious expression for her. The smile she had given him just now was more like the Minh he knew.

Salen had gone to the familiarization field. Training in her armor, Minh had been practicing for days and Salen went to see her progress. Batiste was in radio contact with Minh, giving her instruction.

Batiste stood by the truck that had brought them to the field. While he spoke with Minh, he alternated his attention between the woman in her suit and the remote monitor that lay on the fender of the truck. The monitor was calibrated to the suit computer, repeating what Minh read on her gauges. The device was a hand-held version of the monitor that was equipped in point commander suits. He could observe the status of both the suit and the young woman contained within.

The newest warrior accepted to Clan Wolf was negotiating an obstacle course designed to inculcate Elementals to the limitations of their suits. Sturdy metal beams created a maze in which Minh was required to traverse. The scene was not unlike what she might find in an old demolished building. Jagged pieces of ferro-crete were positioned in awkward places. Some of the pieces were too heavy for the suit to handle, requiring Minh to find a lever or a way to skirt the obstacle.

The obstacles were not continuous, but spaced wide apart so that if one part of the course was occupied, an Elemental could work to clear another obstruction. The first problem Minh had to overcome was the extended length of the suit legs. Being a small person, she thought small and had long been able to turn that to her advantage. The Elemental suit cancelled that advantage. In the first few obstacles, her legs would get hung up within the tight confines.

Another concern was the clearance course. Various constructs of stone and metal, representing fences and vehicles were set up for Elementals to leap over. To trip while airborne would make for a catastrophic landing. Getting cocky, Minh actually used one fence as a stepping stone as she jumped over it.

Salen watched as Minh pressed her suit against a ferro-crete wall and try to squirm past a girder. She barely got herself squeezed in when she became stuck. Jammed firmly in place, she could not extricate herself the way she had come. Over the radio came a grunt of effort. After a moment, she was quiet. Salen could see that the Elemental suit seemed to relax.

"She is thinking," Batiste commented quietly.

Minh braced the knees and elbows of her suit against the wall. Salen heard the girl take a deep breath then watched as she pressed against the stone-hard surface. In the distance, a metallic creak sounded from the girder. Minh exhaled and quickly slipped through the gap that she had enlarged.

"Six, that is enough of that for now. I want you to go to the tree line by obstacle fifteen," Batiste ordered.

Minh obediently complied, her suit maneuvering around the obstacles and, in one case, hopping easily over.

"Go to that tree with the hooked branch," Batiste continued. "When you get there, I want you to jump up onto that branch."

Salen opened her mouth to object when Batiste held a hand up to silence her. The Elemental obviously knew what he was doing. This was another lesson for Minh to learn, the hard way.

Reaching the tree, Minh paused and arched back at her hips to look up. The head assembly of the suit was integral to the shoulders, so she could not merely tilt her own head up to see. After getting an estimate of the height of the branch, she used her jump jets to leap up onto that branch. Salen had to admit that Minh alighted to the branch much like a bird.

However, at a thousand kilograms, her Elemental armor was not a bird.

No sooner had the suit settled down than the branch splintered with a resounding crunching noise. Gravity did the rest. Caught by surprise, Minh attempted to soften her landing with her jump jets.

Batiste was prepared. He pressed an override button on the monitor. The jets forced the suit onto its back and Minh hit the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"They actually worked," Batiste muttered.

Only then did Salen notice an additional assembly fastened to each shin of Minh's suit.

"Training retro rockets," Batiste explained.

Salen understood what had happened. Had she landed on her legs at full speed, the force from the fall would have broken her legs and done other serious injury to her. The retro rockets had reoriented her into a prostrate position. With the force of landing spread out across the back of the suit, any damage would be minimal.

Minh lacked the training time that Elementals normally received. These genetically-advanced warriors had months to become familiar with the powered suits, to know how to escape serious injury when they took a spill. To make up for Minh's inexperience, the retro rockets had been improvised to facilitate her accelerated training.

Having lost her breath, Minh coughed weakly to get air back into her lungs. Her claw arm twitched, then the incapacitated woman croaked out a savage curse.

At least Salen thought it was a curse. The word was spoken in Vietnamese. It was not a word that she was familiar with. At one time, Minh had been instructing the MechWarrior in her language, but the lessons had not progressed that far. Given the younger woman's animosity toward her, it was unlikely that they would continue.

"She says that a lot lately," Batiste said with a tone of satisfaction.

"Her weapons are not armed, quaff?"

"Machine gun loaded, laser hot," Batiste informed her.

Minh's suit got up. Shaky, she faced the Elemental and the MechWarrior. Aware of Minh's temper, Salen edged uneasily away from Batiste. She did not want to get caught in any weapon fire.

"Minh, you have to understand instinctively what you can and cannot do while augmented. In the heat of battle, there is no time to think about what you are going to do. You can jump onto that branch like a bird. That branch can support more than a bird, but not armor."

"I see. That was crash course," Minh's voice sounded shaky, yet thoughtful.

"Are you all right?" Salen asked.

There was no reply from Minh, but Batiste saw on the monitor that her heart rate suddenly increased. From outward appearance, the power suit betrayed none of that agitation.

"Six," Batiste returned to his official comportment. "Join Five over on the mockup. He will teach you how to tear apart a BattleMech." Perhaps she would work off some of that anger. Her demeanor always seemed to improve around Keller.

Minh had been summoned by Stev Ch'in after suit training. Actually, it was Batiste that had relayed the summons. It seemed unusual that the AeroSpace Pilot had not spoken to her himself. The man had always been courteous and respectful of her, ever since he had been dispatched to escort her into confinement after her capture. Now she had been directed to meet him at the Fort Bivouac Meeting Hall.

She found the pilot among the trees by the hall. He was deep in conversation with a man that Minh had not seen before. She approached him from behind. It was when the listener looked in her direction that Stev Ch'in turned and noticed her.

"Ah, Minh! Let me introduce you to Gunther," he greeted her. As he stepped aside, Minh got her first good look at the other man. She quickly noted the white bondcord on his wrist. He regarded her as she critically examined him. His jumpsuit was well maintained, not showing the threadbare signs of wear. His hands appeared soft, lacking the callouses a bondsman would have gained from a hard working lifestyle.

As Minh came to a stop next to them, Stev Ch'in asked her a question. She turned her attention to the pilot, her manner quizzical. She could not understand his words. Stev Ch'in repeated himself. Minh felt as if she were being made sport of in front of Gunther. She replied in kind, speaking Vietnamese.

"Is that Capellan?" Gunther had listened to her carefully.

Minh smoothly closed the distance and gripped his collar before either man could react. Pulling his face down to hers, she recited the litany of slurs used to describe the denizens of the Draconis Combine.

"Drac. Snake. Lizard." She tilted her head sideways, her glare malevolent, then stated one last name in a hiss. "Dragon."

"Minh, I only borrowed Gunther," Stev Ch'in informed her. "I promised to return him in one piece."

"Those names would be preferable to the actual insult that you uttered against me," Minh gave no sign that she had heard Stev Ch'in. The AeroSpace Pilot was unsure that he could get Minh away from the bondsman. If she chose to resist any physical attempt to stop her, she could easily disable him as well as Gunther simultaneously. That would end the plans that he had for the two of them. Discretion being the better part of valor in this case, he tried to talk to her again.

"Minh, Gunther meant no insult. Granted, Vietnamese does not sound like Chinese," he explained. As if to demonstrate, he spoke a phrase in Mandarin Chinese.

Minh looked at Stev Ch'in. He had never seen such disgust on her face before. It was evident that she really despised the Capellans.

"I am not Capellan."

The soft tone of her voice easily conveyed the menace that she had all but promised. When she did release him, Gunther did not feel it. She could have pushed him away from her violently, but the fact that she had kept her control was very chilling to Stev Ch'in.

"Well, you do look Capellan," Gunther declared. Displeased by the arrogant way she had treated him, he was clearly trying to get some of his own back at her expense.

Minh speared the bondsman with a searing look. Seeing that, Stev Ch'in slapped himself in the forehead. There was no way he could convince Minh that Gunther had not meant insult this time.

"Wait here," Minh began to walk toward the meeting hall. She paused and looked back. "If you run, I _will_ catch you."

The men watched her go into the building. When the woman returned, she was carrying a push broom.

"She is going to clean my clock."

Stev Ch'in ignored Gunther's quip. He had heard about this before, how she had used a broom stick in a duel.

"Minh-," he got no further, silenced by her upraised hand.

Minh stopped in front of Gunther. Holding the broom handle in one hand, she twisted the wide bristle head with her other hand as she unscrewed it.

"Here," she held the handle toward him as she tossed the rest of the cleaning implement to the side. "We will fight here. We are evenly matched now." Minh looked to Stev Ch'in. "You may wish to-."

Minh got no further in her attempt to warn the AeroSpace Pilot to step aside. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gunther swing the broom stick in a sudden underhanded motion. Instinct honed by her training with Elementals sent her into action before she could think about what was happening. She avoided the flurry of swings and sweeps. She realized his movements were designed to keep her on the defensive as he advanced against her.

This was completely unlike the last fight where she had armed her opponent. The tech she had battled had been clearly untrained for such activity. This man knew what he was doing. His use of skill appeared so effortless, compared to the work that Minh was doing just to keep out of his range. So intent was she at trying to anticipate what the broom stick was doing that she had not seen that Gunther was holding back, advancing in half steps only.

Minh was preparing for a probing jab when Gunther stepped forward, one full pace this time. She was caught by surprise when the stick passed a hand's width over her head. Before she could react, Gunther stepped back with the handle before him. It was as if he were holding a sword with the point directed at a position on the ground between him and the woman.

Minh realized that she had seriously misjudged the bondsman. He was an older man, old enough to be her father. His soft hands had mislead her into not taking him seriously. He held himself up with a regal bearing, but she had dismissed that as empty posturing. She could see now that it was the pride and discipline of military bearing. The fact that he was not apparently engaged in physical labor meant that he served his bond to the Wolf in another way.

Gunther had not followed up his successful incursion past her defenses. He watched her carefully, calmly waiting for her next move. With the end of the weapon pointed toward the ground, Minh would have to reach down to seize it, thus opening herself up for a strike.

For Minh, the next move was simple. She was facing a skillful opponent that had effectively kept her on the defensive until he could strike. He could have struck her, but had chosen not to. To purposely not follow through would be considered a foolish strategy. There was a fine line between confidence and overconfidence. The man before her did not seem to be a fool. The firm way he kept his eyes on her exuded his competence.

Minh dropped to her hands and knees, then lowered her face until the short trimmed grass brushed her nose. So quickly had she prostrated herself that she did not see Gunther unconsciously react by raising the striking end of the stick to shoulder height. His puzzlement grew when Minh chattered in a tone that was clearly apologetic.

Stev Ch'in was in shock. He had been concerned for Gunther, but this result was unforeseen. Even though he could not understand Minh's native Vietnamese language, he could see that the confrontation had ended.

"Gunner, I was in error for judging you," Minh spoke into the grass. "I apologize for my rude conduct and I humbly beg for your forgiveness."

"His name is 'Gunther'," Stev Ch'in corrected her, his voice quiet with the awe of the moment.

"Gunther," Minh repeated. "I will accept punishment for transgressing against you."

Stev Ch'in waited, watching the two individuals. Gunther still stood over Minh, the stick upraised in preparation for further combat. It would be easy for him to strike her.

Gunther took a step back and relaxed his pose. In a casual manner, he cast the stick away.

"I understand that I am to tutor you in the German language," Gunther said.

Stev Ch'in noticed Minh shake as if startled. She then looked sideways at him. No sooner had they established eye contact than Minh returned her face to the grass.

"Hai, sensei!"

"Much as I like seeing a Drac this way, this is no way to carry on a conversation," Gunther declared. "Get up, girl."

Stev Ch'in had been concerned all over again when Gunther used the epithet against Minh, but her subjugated attitude appeared to be genuine. The woman sat back on her heels, her back straight, but made no effort to rise to her feet. The serene expression on her face showed none of her previous displeasure.

"Well, that is an improvement," Gunther commented. "Tell me, what languages do you speak?"

"I am fluent in tieng Viet and Nihongo," Minh answered, using the native terms for Vietnamese and Japanese. "I am still learning English."

"Your English is very precise. How long have you been practicing?"

"I had some knowledge from before," Minh explained. She paused to consider how she would explain. She was hardly the dissatisfied, ignorant farm girl she had been when she had joined the militia on her home world. Her life had changed so much since she had left her home. "Before, when I was a combine citizen, I learned elementary English in school. After that I was captured. I think that was September or October of last year. I have been speaking English ever since."

"A year then," Gunther nodded then turned to Stev Ch'in. "I can probably get her started before you leave. She will have a cursory understanding of German. Anything else she will have to pick up on her own."

Minh picked up on the information that she would be leaving. It wasn't the first time she had heard it, but in the company of Stev Ch'in the information gained a modicum of credibility.

Minh had lost track of the time she had spent training, but at the first opportunity, she returned to see her friends at the barracks. It was after dinner when she found Erin and Fal.

"I thought you were too good a associate with us anymore," Fal greeted her caustically. "You didn't deign to pick up your stuff when you left. You sent someone else to do that."

"It was not like that," Minh protested. "I did not know I had moved out until after I had moved out."

"Be nice, Fal," Erin objected. "You know Minh is not like that."

Fal gave a satisfied smirk, as if she had scored in a game.

"You're going to leave, too," she replied. "I don't handle rejection well."

"Rejection?" Erin shook her head. "We can't stay here forever. It's called a transient barracks for a reason."

"You're going to be an asTech at the power plant," Fal said.

"And you're going to be Henna's assistant here," Erin rejoined. "It's not like I'm leaving the planet."

"No, but _she_ is," Fal pointed at Minh.

Fal's reaction was not something that Minh had considered before. It had not been too long that she herself felt that her friends and acquaintances were leaving her behind. Katya had gone to work with Doc. Nagatake became a weapons tech for the Elemental point that she herself had been bonded to.

"So, did you forget something here?" Fal asked. "What did not come back for?"

"You," Minh said simply. "I did not forget."

Fal crossed her arms in mocking disbelief.

"You know how she is," Erin indicated Fal.

"Yeah, you know how I am," Fal quipped.

"I missed seeing you guys," Minh could not suppress the smile that appeared unbidden.

"I can imagine that cold bunch you associate with now," Fal was referring to the warriors.

Minh had never considered the warriors to be cold. An exclusive club unto themselves, yes, but not cold. Francen came to mind, initially aloof but had quickly become companionable.

"See, there you go!" Erin said brightly, as if making a point.

"What are you talking about? What did I say?" Fal demanded.

"That's why Minh is here," Erin explained. "She does remember who her friends are."

"You mean you you're not here because you left something behind?" Fal asked Minh.

"I'm here for you," the Wolf Clan's newest warrior admitted.

"What about the poker game downstairs?" Fal asked slyly. "I heard you started playing."

"It was just once," Minh replied.

"Really? I heard you were there several times," Erin joined in.

"I just watched before," Minh explained, not missing the delight in Erin's tone. _They are teasing me_, Minh realized, deciding that she liked it.

"I guess you'll be going to the game," Fal guessed.

"Well, later," Minh said slowly, unable to conceal the guilty look on her face. The other two women laughed.

After her visit, she left the barracks room by way of the external exit. Descending the stairs two steps at a time, she quickly reached the ground and jogged across the grass toward the front offices of the barracks complex. Had she been observant, she would have noticed Keen walking toward his own quarters. Seeing her go into the barracks, he changed direction and followed her. Rather than go into the doorway, he sat on the bench set against the building wall. From there, he could clearly hear what was transpiring within.

"That's a nice stack of scrip," Keen heard one of the men greet her. "Where'd you get it?"

The man's use of a contraction grated on Keen's sensibilities. It was his opinion that associating with such individuals was beneath Minh's station.

"I earned it in Quiet Springs."

"Where is that?"

"It's a farming enclave," another man spoke up. "Why were you working there?"

"I needed to eat," Minh answered.

"What do you know of farm work?" the first man asked.

There was a moment of silence, then he spoke up again.

"Why are you showing me your hands?"

"Can't you see?" the man that knew of the enclave piped up. "She didn't get those work worn hands by being lazy."

"You sure know how to compliment a girl," somebody else spoke up.

It was quiet again. Somebody gave an uncomfortable cough. Keen could picture the look on Minh's face. Private and self-conscious about her appearance, he could imagine the action she could take against these men for their transgression.

He was surprised by the bark of laughter. Short and explosive, he had at first assumed that one of the men had let it loose.

"You're lucky she has a sense of humor," the first man chuckled.

Keen turned his head to look at the doorway. He belatedly realized that he had never heard Minh laugh. In all the time he had known her, he might have seen her smile once. No, not even that, not a smile. For a reason he could not fathom, it bothered him that he had never seen her smile.

Why did it bother him?

Listening to the men, he knew the answer. These men, not even warriors, had managed to get to know the person of Minh that was now denied him. Keen could hear the respect in the men's voices. Given their familiarity, it was obvious that they had known Minh since she was a bondswoman.

"It's called 'quid pro quo'. I do a favor for you. You do a favor for me."

Keen hadn't been paying attention to the conversation. He could recall the voices of the men, but not the content of which they spoke. Someone must have said something unusual in order to have offered up an explanation.

"Aff, I think I could use that," Minh agreed.

"I thought you might," the man continued. "I figured if you weren't busy one of these evenings, maybe we…"

"No."

Keen couldn't help but smile at her sudden refusal. Given that she had become familiar with these working caste men, he shouldn't have been surprised that one of them would make such a social offer. What didn't surprise him was her prompt answer.

An awkward silence followed. A chair scraped across the floor while someone shuffled playing cards.

"Okay, I was joking when I asked for a date," the man finally spoke up. "Look, the trade is good. I wasn't joking about that. Make me an offer and we'll be even."

"There is one person in this room that can beat us up. All at the same time, in fact, and you would make an enemy of her?" spoke the man that had commented on the enclave.

"Hey, I said I was joking. Maybe she could introduce me to her friend that works in the infirmary."

"You can introduce yourself to her," Minh responded. "I will not compel her to meet people to advance my own advantage. I do not do that to my friends, especially one of my best friends."

"Yeah, be a man. If you want to talk to that med tech, then talk to her. Don't hide behind Minh," someone else quipped.

Keen listened as the poker game commenced. Minh was serious in her trading with these men, given the dealing she was doing in addition to her banter with these men. At the moment, she was talking about 'choice'. He had no idea what the 'choice' referred to, but apparently it came by the kilo.

He marveled at the companionable ease in which she expressed herself in this mixed company. It was hardly the respectful restraint to which he was accustomed to when she addressed him. She was carefully cautious but still deferential in her manner to him. Compared to the adversarial relationship she maintained with Salen, her treatment of him was relatively preferential.

He wished his own feelings were as resolute. Now that Minh was no longer his bond, he felt ambivalent. She had become a warrior in her own right. In leaving bond status, he was no longer responsible for her, at least not as bondholder. He had some responsibility as her combat commander. Rather than simplifying things when she had achieved warrior status, matters had become more complicated. He wanted to become her friend, but it was obvious to him that she felt more comfortable in the company of others. As he had heard, she appeared happy and at ease. An unselfish part of him did not want to take that away from her.

On the other hand, he was her commander. To seek a personal relationship with a member of his combat team seemed to be an act of betrayal. A betrayal exacerbated by her refusal of him. One solution would be to transfer her to another point, but that would only solve one problem. Is sending her away, she would regard that as a lack of trust on his part. Unfortunately, she could not hope to be given the same opportunity to prove herself in combat. The other point commanders had made it quite clear that they did not share his vision for Minh. Should she fail to win a place on a point, the only opening for her would be in the infantry.

Cannon fodder.

He thought about that. She already had a friend in the infantry, the platoon leader Francen. He wondered if such a fate would be unwelcome to Minh. He knew she had always been interested in Elemental powered battle armor. Should she fail to place in a point, she would lose that. It seemed strange that he was considering her feelings. It was unusual for a warrior like himself to consider another's interests over his own. That was counterproductive to the clan way. He had always strove to give his best effort. Thus he had proven that he was worthy of his place in the clan. Self-interest had always been the clan way. To advance another warrior before himself was decidedly unnatural, even if that advance would prove advantageous to the clan. He could barely admit to himself that his interest in Minh's success was altruistic.

With the mental turmoil in his mind regarding Minh, he could now understand the clan prohibition against formalized personal relationships. When things went sour, it was a demoralizing emotional distraction. The mental uncertainty sapped a warrior's self-confidence. A warrior that loses his edge loses the fight.

Should she become infantry, there was no doubt in his mind that she would die bravely. Her loss as cannon fodder would be of no benefit to the clan, never mind the loss to Keen.

The previous evening was but a memory to Keen as he faced Minh during late morning Elemental training. The two warriors were sparring. He noticed that her dark eyes glittered within her serious mien, not unlike what he would see in a cornered mammal. The difference between his hypothetical mammal and Minh was that the animal was unable to run and this woman had chosen not to. She exuded a confidence that was over and above what her petite form could possibly offer.

The two circled each other, oblivious to the attention of the other members of the point. She had feinted, offering false attacks and then darting away before he could latch onto her or deliver a strike. Her approaches were from oblique angles, as if encouraging leg strikes. Her reflexes were incredibly sharp, posing a challenge to the point commander. Knowing he had the endurance to outlast Minh at this game, he was understandably curious to see why the woman wished for him to kick at her. The reach of his legs was much longer than her kicks. It didn't make sense for her to take advantage of her own legs, risking his more substantial arm reach. She feinted, trying to get behind him and he twisted around. Although she easily avoided his grasp, he could see the hint of impatience in her expression.

_Next time_, Keen decided.

Shifting around again, Minh charged in. Keen was gratified to see a momentary flicker of surprise as he lashed out with his right leg in a sideways sweep. Expecting her to be clever, he kept his leg low. He intended to knock her from her feet. Against an opponent of equal stature that technique would have been effective. Against Minh, it seemed to have been expected. Falling and tumbling, she rolled beneath his kick. Instinctively, he tried to keep from stepping on her. It was not a natural reaction, for him or any warrior. For a fraction of a moment, he wondered if she had included that psychology when devising this attack. Such sneakiness was considered underhanded, but not uncommon in clan warfare. Whether or not Minh had planned for that, it had been effective in getting him off balance. He would have to remember that.

In the meantime Minh had grappled with his left knee, levering herself against his supporting leg. She managed to use her nimbleness to trip Keen, tipping him away from his kicking leg. As Keen went over he threw his right arm outward and back so he would roll upon landing. Not waiting for him to hit the ground, Minh leaped up at him. With one arm cocked back to strike, it was clear she would administer her finishing move while he was preoccupied with falling. Having used his arms to propel his upper body around, he had left himself open to her attack. It was a daring and instinctively logical tactic, but she had underestimated his ability to recover the initiative. Seizing her cocked arm with his left hand, he had effectively immobilized her as the two went down together. As Keen hit and rolled, Minh landed on her back beneath him. Releasing his grip on her, Keen prevented himself from crushing her by catching himself on his hands. Face to face, the two stared at each other, combat forgotten.

The look of wide eyed surprise almost brought a smile to Keen's face. He watched her, waiting to see if she would take advantage of his position over her. While he supported himself on his hands, she had the opportunity to take a shot at his ribcage or abdomen. Minh remained motionless, her arms outspread at rest. Keen made the first move. Shifting his weight onto one arm, he brought his hand close to her face. He recalled another time when he gave into the desire to touch her cheek. He remembered the fear on her face. Not fear of him but fear of the romantic longings she felt for him. The expression on Minh's face now showed no fear. Her eyes followed his hand then returned to his face, looking into his own eyes. She was not afraid, but her mien betrayed the turmoil of confusion.

From his position over her, he could see the pallid scar on her neck. He did not notice it every time he saw her, but on the occasions when he did it reminded him of the length she had gone to atone for failing her duty. Due to a sense of misplaced guilt, she had attempted to take her own life. He was not fully cognizant of the cultural ethics from which she had been raised, knowing only that she followed her code of conduct. With that in mind, he knew that she placed serious emphasis on her personal honor. He feared that such trespass on his part could cause a repeat of ojigai. He had come to learn that ojigai was a method of suicide used by women from Minh's society. Keen did not doubt that this was the cause of Minh's intense aversion to combat blades.

_How can she not see my feelings for her?_ Keen wondered. The two were so close he could feel the breath from her nose. Only moments had passed, but it felt like a much longer time had elapsed. Since they had fallen, Minh had not spoken a word. Yet, her dark eyes continued to reveal the chaos of her emotional state.

Keen reluctantly withdrew his hand. He could not understand why Minh was denying her emotions. He could sense her desire, but at the same time she refused to acknowledge her feelings. Out of respect for her, he would not press her to confront those feelings. As he had come to know her over the months, he had developed a regard that progressed beyond that which he had expected when he first captured her.

He loved her.

As that realization broached his consciousness, he felt his face blanch. He was appalled. Given the amount of thought he had devoted to this woman and his feelings for her, he found he was unprepared to admit that. For a moment, he imagined that Minh had actually tried to punch him.

_Is this how she feels? What have I done?_

He gave himself a mental shake. The bout was over. Neither opponent had won. Keen had merely neutralized the attack against him and had not followed through with his own counterattack.

In a normal bout, he would have extended his hand and helped his opponent return to his feet. Instinctively, he knew that Minh would refuse his hand, given her ambivalent state of mind. He recalled another episode where she had become hysterical, for a moment believing that he was undressing her. She had fainted after dropping Batiste to the ground. Keen had loosened her clothing to help dissipate her excessive body heat.

Rather than trip one of her ingrained cultural taboos, he decided to give the small woman space to move. He raised himself up and to the side. Oddly enough, he was relieved to see a satisfied smirk on her face as she picked herself up.

Even though their match had ended in a draw, Minh was entitled to that satisfaction. She had never gotten the drop on Keen before. It was then that he noticed his point had been staring wordlessly at them. Aware that the two warriors had previously shared affection, if little else, it was obvious Keen's Elemental point had witnessed everything.

Minh paid them little heed. Occupied with her post workout stretching, it was as if the past few minutes had never happened. Diligent and conscientious, she let herself cool down from the physical exertion. Her eyes seemed to turn inward as she tried to inculcate what she had learned from sparring with the Elementals. At such times, it was difficult to determine what she was thinking. She was typically Minh.

Minh was happy. Her situation was everything that she had hoped for. Yet she felt she was missing something, missing ...

... Keen. As she thought of his name, her mind automatically sought to escape from that answer. For some reason, she felt that there was something unresolved between herself and Keen. Never mind the fact that she had declared her lack of interest in pursuing a personal relationship between the two of them.

Apart from their time training together, the only unstructured time that they spent together was during the lunchtime meal. The entire point went to the dining facility between daytime activities. For the other meals she ate with Francen. For breakfast, the two of them met at their room after their early morning physical fitness training. Of course, Francen insisted that Minh eat dinner in the evening. Minh smiled. When she missed a meal, her hungry stomach made noises, but she did not believe that her belly was that loud.

Unlike many other warriors, Minh had demonstrated an ability to converse on a variety of subjects. With her non-clan upbringing and natural curiosity, she was in stark contrast to her new peers with their strict martial oriented background. Francen did not want to admit it, but she enjoyed the former bondswoman's company. Her wild reputation for nonconformity and unpredictability was not as extreme as had been rumored.

Minh was fastidious in her personal grooming and neatness in regard to her personal things. A pleasant discovery, since Francen had initially been against the small woman rooming with her.

At the moment, however, Francen was hoping that her judgment of the other woman was not premature. The woman in question was driving the vehicle in which the two of them shared at the moment. The scenery passed at an extremely unpleasant high rate of speed on the unpaved road. The woman would have to slow down really soon, since they were close to their destination.

They were more than close, for no sooner had she made that realization they had arrived. Minh stabbed the brake with her foot with a seemingly reckless disregard for proper vehicle handling. Francen quickly brought one foot up to brace herself against the empty front pintle-mount, her face expressing her vexation rather than fear. The tires skidded on the dirt road, sending gravel skittering ahead of the stopping vehicle.

Some of the warriors that were gathered at the beach converged on the unarmed fast attack vehicle. Although weaponless, the cargo baskets were filled with supplies for the lakeside cookout. It would be a feast in celebration of the trinary's completion of training. In days they would depart once more.

"As promised, fresh meat, not frozen," Minh declared to them.

"What about the Choice? Were you able to get ten kilos?" Rick asked.

"Neg," Minh shook her head. "Not ten. I hope you can settle for twelve."

The MechWarrior stopped to think for a moment, quickly realizing that he was being teased. A surprised grin appeared on his face.

"Twelve kilos of Choice meat, what _else_ did you give him?"

"In addition to what you offered, I threw in a few empty heavy-class autocannon brass."

"What does he want those for?"

"He barters too," Minh said sensibly. "Go ahead and take this stuff to the grill. I'm going to hit the lake and get some of this dust off."

With that, she pulled a pack from the driver's side basket and trotted toward the lake shore.

"Well, we know who is in charge," Francen muttered.

"She brought us two extra kilos of Choice meat," Rick grinned. "I think she deserves some slack."

Francen shook her head as she reached into the passenger side basket and picked up one of the insulated meat containers. She paused just long enough to see Minh shrug off her coveralls. Underneath she wore her leotard and trunks. Why the little woman persisted in wearing that combination of attire was beyond her.

At any other time, Minh would be reluctant to leave the warm water of the lake. Swimming had become one of her favorite activities. On this day, with the prospect of eating choice cut meat, a few minutes in the lake was sufficient enough to satisfy her.

Having dried herself off, she wrapped the towel from her pack around her waist and wore it as a skirt. There were a few raised eyebrows at that, but Minh was accustomed to such reaction.

Rick observed her speculatively. He was appreciative how the towel conformed to her slender figure. He was unaware of Francen's proximity until she nudged him in the side.

"Since she got out of the water, all of you guys are staring at her," she commented.

"I'm not the first one to say it, but she _is _a tidy little package," Rick nodded at Minh.

It was while Minh was overseeing the grilling of the meat that she was approached by Star Commander Salen. The smaller warrior gave the MechWarrior a sidelong glance, then ignored her. Salen rolled her eyes, silently wondering if the smaller woman was really worth the effort she was about to make.

"Minh."

The towel clad warrior gave no sign of having heard her name. Salen waited patiently. Repeating herself when she knew the other woman heard her seemed too much like begging.

As if feeling the MechWarrior's stare, she eventually faced the taller woman. The dark haired woman waited a heartbeat longer before speaking.

"I would talk with you."

The formal tone that Salen had taken was not lost on Minh.

"Turn those steaks in another minute," she instructed the warriors at the grill. "If I am not back before three minutes, take them off the fire."

Minh looked to Salen, jerking her head to a spot away from the grill. As the two women walked, the other warriors watched them. The animosity between the two women was well known, but not the reason for it. From where they stood, their conversation would be unheard.

Without uttering a word, Minh waited expectantly. She did not have long to wait.

"I wish to end the contention between us."

"You should not have done that," Minh's voice was level, but there was no mistaking the anger in her eyes.

"You cannot hold me responsible for that!" Salen hissed. "If we had not treated you that way, you would have been put to death, you ungrateful wretch!"

"I'm not talking about that," Minh almost spat. "I had run away. Of course I had to be punished for that!"

"Then what is your problem?"

"You took a liberty with me that was not yours to take."

"What?" Salen sounded incredulous. "Do you even understand what you just said? What does that mean?"

"I understand that you lied."

Salen opened her mouth to reply then snapped her jaw closed.

"I see that you understand now," Minh said. "You knew my feelings. You knew how I would react. Do not deny it!"

"I cannot deny the truth of your charge," Salen admitted. "It was an act unworthy of the least warrior in the clan. I saw a way to inflict hurt upon you and I shamelessly took advantage of it."

Minh said nothing to that. As Salen waited, her mind recalled the incident that had incited the smaller woman's fury. Salen had purposely misinformed the former bondswoman that Keen had turned to another woman in Minh's absence. In fact, Keen had not been with any woman at all during that time. As a matter of fact, he had become uncommonly monogamous, if that was the proper term for persons in a nonsexual relationship. As she pondered that question of definition, a thought occurred to her.

"You knew!"

Minh cocked her head sideways.

"You little fool! You both know about it! Why are you still apart?" Salen demanded.

"Because I told him it was over between us," Minh replied. "For me to go back on that would cause both of us to lose face."

"'Lose face'? What do you mean?"

"You would not understand."

"Would this have to do with your honor?"

"Do not speak of that!" Minh hissed. "For me to go back on my word to Keen would make me a liar." It was clear that in unspoken context, she meant a liar like Salen.

"You both know the facts now. Why are you so stubborn? You have to know how he feels about you."

"Warriors do not have feelings. That is not the clan way."

"You would quote my culture to me?" Salen shook her head. The incredulity was clear on her face.

"It is my culture now," Minh insisted. "You persist in treating me as outsider."

Salen noticed that the smaller warrior's speech was becoming chopped. The irritation was clear in her tone.

"You act as if I am something to you," Minh continued. "I have always been nobody. I am beneath your notice, yet here you are in my face."

"I have wronged you," Salen admitted. "I am unaccustomed to friendship…"

"You were never my friend," Minh snapped. "You must think I did not notice your disapproval after my warrior character evaluation."

"Are you still mad about that too?"

"You claim friendship," Minh narrowed her eyes, "yet behave as enemy."

Salen searched her memory for the epithet that she had heard Minh utter, the word that Batiste claimed to hear so much of. Hoping she had the pronunciation down, she spoke.

From the intense look she received, Salen seemed to have said the Vietnamese word correctly.

"Listen to me, Minh…"

"I heard what you said."

"Not that! You can be so stubborn sometimes."

"That is the clan way."

"Aff, aff, you are correct. I concede that you are clan," Salen was exasperated. "You are more clan that I."

"Patronize me at your risk," Minh bristled. It occurred to Salen that despite being towel wrapped this woman could only be pushed just so far. This time pushing the little Elemental had not been her intention.

"Listen, it doesn't have to be this way," Salen tried to return to the topic at hand. "I want to fix what I had made wrong."

"That is no longer any of your concern," Minh said coldly. She paused, looking over Salen's shoulder. It was evident that she had something further to say. Salen did not have long to wait before Minh looked her in the eye. "The situation between us is eating at us like a poison," she declared. "I wish resolution."

"Then why…?"

"You want to finish this," Minh interrupted her. "That makes two of us. Let us finish it with a fight in a Circle of Equals."

"Aff. I will meet you," Salen agreed.

"Not today," Minh decided. "Oddly enough, I am still in a good mood right now."

"Just say the place and time and I will be there," Salen promised.

"Immediately after the first jump of whatever JumpShip we leave this planet on," Minh declared.

"Right _after _the jump?" Salen asked skeptically. Minh suffered from jump sickness. She knew of no one else that would become so debilitated.

"Immediately after," Minh confirmed. She glanced back at the grill. "I am through talking about this now. Don't talk to me anymore today."

With that, Minh returned to the grill.

"We took the steaks off already," one of the men said. "This is another batch."

Minh looked over at the table. The warrior noticed her gaze and responded.

"They went quick. We figured you would rather have yours hot off the fire."

Minh leaned close to the grill and inhaled appreciatively through her nose. She nodded.

"I want mine very rare," she said. She nodded her head in Salen's direction. "Ask the star commander how she wants her steak."

Salen blinked in surprise. She had become aware that Minh could carry a grudge. The solemn civility she displayed gave the MechWarrior hope. The hurdle she now faced was meeting Minh in the Circle of Equals.

Witnessing the encounter between Minh and Salen, Keen felt a sense of jealousy. Somehow Salen found a way to get Minh to talk to her. Even though the two were out of earshot, at times their voices rose and he could pick up snatches of conversation. What little he heard was tantalizing. It was clear they were arguing, but at the end of their encounter it was clear that they had reached agreement. He could sense the satisfaction and relief in Minh's posture. Thinking about it, he could admit to a sense of envy.

He had been on the receiving end of her ire once before. She had been angry that he had honored her slain companions by taking credit for their defeat at his hands. He recalled the fire in her eyes and that peculiar facial tic. He had not seen that tic since, so he assumed that Minh had been psychologically disturbed at the time, disturbed enough to make an unprovoked attack on an Elemental. She had left herself open for retaliation, had he chose to defend himself. Secretly, he admired her boldness. Minh understood the penalty for disobedience and misconduct. She had suffered the punishment, once from Salen by electro-lash and once from him when he knocked her to her hands and knees with a slap. Regarding her striking him, she had been misguided in thinking that it was their deaths that he boasted over. It had been their determination and fearlessness in granting combat with him that he celebrated. Both he and Salen and explained that to her. At the time Minh remained unconvinced. Extraordinarily enough it was the passion of her conviction had fired his soul.

Suni had called her his mascot, misunderstanding or perhaps misinterpreting his feelings for the former bondswoman. If she had seen the dispassionate look in her eyes that first day on Demeter, the look that had replaced her first expression of surprise, perhaps Suni would understand. Keen in his powered suit had torn the armor of her turret away from in front of her. It was clear Minh had never perceived of such an action, much less the powered armor that had enabled Keen to do that. Had Suni witnessed that, she would understand that Minh had an inner strength that contradicted her diminutive form.

"Minh."

Keen observed his former bondswoman look up from the grill. At the water's edge stood Batiste, behind him in deeper water stood the other Elementals. All of them were dressed for swimming. Batiste held his hand out toward Minh, his palm up. He folded his fingers, beckoning her in unmistakable challenge. Minh looked down at the grill, then back up at her challenger. She was torn between watching over her steak and accepting what Batiste offered.

She gave a curious little growl. The warrior next to her looked over as she pulled her towel off.

"Hold this," she told him. "I'll be right back. Do not let my steak burn."

She stepped around the grill and suddenly charged toward the beach. Her feet pounded over the soft ground, the muscles of her trim, well-toned legs flexing with power. The sudden run attracted the attention of the other warriors in the proximity.

Minh threw herself at the big Elemental. Close to the shore, with water lapping around his shins, the leaping woman did not even get her feet wet. The watching warriors did not understand the objective of the assault. Minh made no attempt to strike. For his part, Batiste did not move to defend himself. It would have been incredibly easy for him to swat her from the air. Instead, he seized her midriff and swiveled himself. Whirling the woman around, he launched her away toward Anton. He stumbled backward, water splashing but managed to keep his feet.

Anton repeated the move, flinging the woman toward Wendal. He in turn pivoted and sent her to Keller. The look on Minh's face was wolfish with glee.

Keller caught her.

"Up you go!" he shifted himself, guiding her trajectory higher than she had been propelled before. As Minh went airborne, she curled up into a ball. She wrapped her arms around her head and tucked her knees up against her torso. She slowly spun as she came back down, striking the water with a tremendous splash.

When he saw her with his point, he quickly remembered what had happened the last time. He recalled how she had slammed into the mat. She could have been killed. When he carried her from the gym, she had put an arm around his neck. He had taken her back to her own bunk, but he had been tempted to bring her back to his own quarters instead. He was glad that he had resisted that impulse. There was no doubt in his mind she would have killed herself rather than live with the dishonor of having her person violated...

He would be honored if she would show the same sense of loyalty to him as she displayed with her values. He could admit that she had once honored him by saving his life. Unconscious, he was at the mercy of Callista Murphy at the end of his trial. He could have been left to drown, but Minh intervened on his behalf after the final outcome.

Minh had surfaced and swam by Keller. She said something to him and was rewarded with a splash of water. Delighted, she splashed him back. Companionably, she swam alongside as he walked toward the shore. Reaching Wendal, the water was shallow enough for her to walk as well. She shook her head. Her short hair almost seemed to become dry. Only the ends dripped water.

Keen observed the ease at which she had been interacting with the other warriors. She did not lack for companions. A number of times during the past week he attempted to approach her, but somehow she seemed to sense him. She gave no outward expression, but she would turn away suddenly as if avoiding him. The few times they made eye contact, he could see the confusion. This was not the Minh he wanted. He wanted the self-assured, confident, strong-willed woman that he had fallen in love with. He had hoped to try to talk to her today, but he was unwilling to in the wake of her conversation with Salen.

She was as if she were unprepared and unwilling to deal with their situation as it stood, but he was willing to wait for her to regain her nerve. Watching her with Salen seemed to be proof of that.

Upon leaving the water, Batiste beckoned Minh to accompany him. She looked toward the grill, the longing evident on her face.

_My steak will be cold by the time I get back_, she thought unhappily. _Unless someone eats it_.

Batiste could not miss the impatient look on her face.

"This will not take long. I'm hungry, too," he said, correctly divining her concern.

Minh remained silent. An arm length away, she looked up at him.

"You have been holding back," he said.

Minh wanted to protest. From past experience, she understood that such a declaration from an Elemental could be taken as a challenge. From his calm tone, Batiste was not trying to provoke a fight. He was not being judgmental. It was an observation. He seemed to watch her carefully and became satisfied when Minh returned his regard patiently. No, this was no challenge. He had something to say and it was meant to be instructional.

"I have been contemplating the tactics you employed during your warrior test," he announced. "You engaged us with no weapon of your own. Another warrior candidate would have brought a weapon and used it, to make an example before issuing an ultimatum."

"I am not another warrior," Minh said simply.

Batiste looked at her. Tempting as it was to agree with her, that was not the point the wished to make.

"Continued displays of restraint will only serve to get you killed in battle."

It had never occurred to Minh to argue with Batiste. For so long, this man had been a social and military superior. Any resistance against him would not have been condoned. Now that she was a warrior, this was just another matter for her to readjust to.

"To give up any undue advantage you have over an opponent, to fight on equal terms, is a noble challenge," Batiste said. "All warriors strive to demonstrate their best effort and prove themselves supreme."

_That sounds like a compliment_, Minh silently considered. _His criticism will be next_. She was not disappointed.

"You habitually give your opponent the advantage. Arming that tech may have leveled the fight, but persisting in that will only get you hurt."

_If only you knew_, Minh thought, remembering the bout with Gunther.

"You had a vast choice of weapons at your disposal," Batiste continued. "We had a variety of weapons of our own. We would have used them. Without hesitation. You were foolish not to take advantage of the armory. Not having a knife almost got you killed before you even faced us."

_I know I am lucky to be alive_, Minh agreed silently.

"There is no shame in using that which is freely offered for your use," Batiste instructed her.

Minh nodded, but Batiste was not finished.

"As a warrior, you must not show mercy," he said. "Compassion has no place in combat. All you will accomplish is that you had advantage to your enemy. Your enemy will not reciprocate your compassion. You will die. Or worse."

_What is worse? _Minh wondered. Then she understood. If she failed, that would be worse. Never mind capture, never mind being at the mercy of new captors. Failure itself was worse than death. Failure would mean that she had betrayed the trust of her comrades. Such an outcome was virtually unthinkable. She gave a slight frown.

Batiste saw the effect his line of reasoning was having on Minh and he nodded with satisfaction. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You are a good warrior," he said. "You have proven worthy of the promise you have consistently shown. I look forward to fighting at your side."

Minh bent forward in a bow.

"I, too, look forward to that," she said as she straightened up. She was then surprised when the towering Elemental bowed over her in acknowledgement.

_He had never done that before_, she thought. _Nobody but me has ever done that_.

"Let us eat," he gestured toward the grill. Inwardly he had been amused to see the surprise on her face.

Minh retrieved her towel and wrapped it around her hips once more. Salen was at the grill, using a long tined fork to remove a juicy steak from the fire. Being the last piece of meat, it would be a while before the next batch of meat was ready. Granted, cooking the meat rare did not take long, but Minh had been pulled away from her meal twice now.

Salen turned and held the plate to Minh. From all appearances the steak had been grilled the way she wanted it. Batiste's words instantly came to mind. _There is no shame to accept that which is freely offered_.

Allowing a small smile to touch her lips, she took the plate from Salen.

Nagatake arranged a meet with Minh outside of the infirmary since her fellow warriors were unlikely to visit. Minh was waiting when he arrived with the cloth-wrapped bokken casually carried in one hand.

He did not want the Elementals to interfere when he presented the weapon to Minh. He had heard them discuss what had happened between the young woman and her former bondholder when Keen had placed a ceremonial blade in her hand. With his hand around her fist, he had prevented her from discarding the knife. It was clear to Nagatake that she still carried the stigma of her attempted ojigai. That was not unusual. Radical life changing decisions had far reaching effects to those that survived. That she rejected meaningless suicide pleased him. No, his real concern was her thrall to the clan way. As the fighting blade was the manifestation of her shame of suicide, he hoped that the bokken would provide her with a link to her cultural heritage. Nagatake had not seen anything in the clan inventory that compared to the wooden sword, unless one were to take into account stun batons.

"I have enough sharp things," Minh said, eyeing the sword-shaped bundle in his hand dubiously.

"It's not a live blade," Nagatake replied, holding it so it rested in both hands before him. Wrapped in bright green fabric, it was tied closed with a single cord with loops placed equidistantly along the length.

He shifted his right hand to grip it with palm down then released his left hand, slowly extending the weapon toward Minh. The weapon had a slight curve, giving the impression that the ends were sagging from where he held it in the middle.

Minh's eyebrows arched in surprise at the ceremonial manner in which Nagatake presented the bokken. It was traditional in the Draconis Combine to award swords in this manner. In clan controlled space, this was not common practice. Knives perhaps, but not swords. That a tech was bestowing a weapon to a warrior from a position of superiority was inappropriate. Clan doctrine would have the technician handing the weapon with efficiency. Behaving in a manner above his station, he could expect to be punished and put back in his place. Nagatake counted on Minh's residual respect for him as her former commanding officer to not react in that clannish manner.

Nagatake knew that an unsolicited gift would make Minh wary, wondering what the gift giver wanted in return. Such conduct flew in the face of his previous arguments against the clan way and customs. If he was not careful he could completely alienate her.

"As a warrior, your conduct and actions will affect more than yourself. To reflect that consciousness, I believe you are ready to advance to the bokken. It will serve as a practical example of an extension of your will."

Minh's dark eyes gave nothing away regarding her emotion.

"I admit to not being a proficient teacher in the discipline of the bokken," Nagatake continued. "Given your propensity for adaptation, I believe you have the skill to learn this."

"I might know someone," Minh reached forward and accepted the wrapped bokken into her upraised palms. Nagatake had no knowledge that she was thinking of the bondsman Gunther, a man he had never met.

Minh managed to trade for the motorcycle drive belt she had been hunting for. Unlike her previous trip to Quiet Springs in which she stowed away in the back of an empty truck trailer, she returned by bus. As the sole warrior among the tech and civilian caste passengers, she stood out in spite of her small form.

Her arrival at Mistress Mabel's hostel created a stir. Most of the farm techs were the same as before, including Beron and Grace. Lope had left weeks before to work for another farm. As for the girls working for Mistress Mabel, they were unfamiliar. Minh was not surprised since she had observed a steady turnover among the house servants during the previous stay.

At dinner the first day the consensus was that she looked half-starved. The commentary brought a self-conscious flush to her face. To her, the reaction was un-Elemental. She wished she were more stoic.

The tech Guy spent all evening working on the motorcycle, first attaching the drive belt before tuning the engine. The prolonged inactivity made it difficult to start. He literally had to overhaul the engine. Once that mechanical hurtle was passed, the next issue was the rough idle. It was fortunate that he managed to get the motorcycle running properly. Mistress Mabel came out with arms crossed, declaring that it was getting late and people needed to sleep.

Minh had hoped to be able to sleep in the kitchen. Mistress Mabel would have none of that. She was instead given a room formerly used by Lope.

The following day, Minh waited for Guy to finish his work shift. She could have commandeered the tech for the day, but she was hesitant to abuse her newly gained warrior status. After all, in her opinion his duties to support food production were as important as her responsibility to defend it. Exercising patience, she spent the day in the field with the techs. The time provided her with the opportunity to observe the massive harvesting machines at work. Her own farming background was completely menial. The only mechanical assistance were the trucks that carried the harvest away.

That afternoon the two of them took the motorcycle to a fallow field to practice. The unused ground was mostly level and firm. Within an hour she managed to control the two-wheeled conveyance.

It was when she was confident in her ability that she dumped the bike, the ground too soft in one spot allowing the front tire to dig in. She took a spill and the heavy machine pinned her leg to the ground. Guy ran up in an instant and lifted the motorcycle from her. The mishap earned her a slight limp. The ground was soft enough to prevent serious injury, resulting only in bruising and muscle tenderness.

"I didn't break the bike," she boasted proudly when she recounted her trip upon her return to base.

The limp was not enough to keep Minh from her new duties. One of her assignments was serving as a peacekeeper. The warriors at Fort Bivouac took turns patrolling the small township outside of the base. The patrols commenced in the afternoon when off-duty warriors left the base for recreational activities. For the most part, there was rarely any trouble. It was in the bars and restaurants where alcoholic beverages were served where the risk of incidents was highest. Normally uninhibited, warriors became even more free in their display of aggressive behavior.

Minh accompanied an AeroSpace Pilot, a brace of MechWarriors, and a conventional infantryman. Armed with a holstered pistol on his duty belt, the pilot was the leader of their detail. The remaining peacekeepers carried stun batons on their belts. All of them wore helmets and a brassard on one sleeve.

"As our token Elemental, you will be in front if we have any trouble, quaff?"

Minh looked back at the MechWarrior. The smirk on his face revealed that his question was in jest.

"Aff." Minh agreed with a serious expression. "Bargained well and done."

"B-bargain? What bargain?" the MechWarrior sputtered incredulously. "What?"

Minh did not reply. Turning away from him, she fell into step beside the AeroSpace Pilot. Unlike Stev Ch'in, this man had not been genetically engineered with the small stature that Minh had come to associate with the pilots. As usual she had the shortest stature among her companions.

Throughout the afternoon and into the evening Minh could not miss the speculative glances she received from the recreating warriors. She could tell from the patches on their coveralls that the majority were from other clans. Having found acceptance within Clan Wolf, it appeared to Minh that these other warriors entertained curiosity.

"Stop staring them down," the AeroSpace Pilot murmured into her ear. "We are here to keep them from fighting, not to engage them ourselves."

"That is counterinsurgent," Minh commented. "To run from a fight is to encourage pursuit."

The MechWarrior chuckled. "That did not make any sense!"

The AeroSpace Pilot looked at Minh, puzzlement on his face. The small Elemental cocked her head at him in return.

"Running from a fight invites the chase reflex," she explained again.

"How is that counterinsurgent?"

"For a warrior to yield and avoid a fight is not clan-like." Minh wondered why the pilot did not understand his own language. She actually felt pleased to be able to use one of their big words.

"Counterin-" the pilot pronounced slowly, then uttered "Oh, counterintuitive!"

The MechWarrior laughed outright. Minh looked him in the eye, for to look away in embarrassment would be unworthy of an Elemental. _I deserve that_, she thought. If she were going to show off her fluency in English, she should try to get it right. For him to laugh at her was her own fault. To her surprise, she uttered a chuckle in return.

The MechWarrior relaxed and she noticed the tension drain from the other peacekeepers. It occurred to her that the warriors had interpreted her aloofness for aggression.

Most were content to merely look but one smart aleck, fortified with more alcohol than sense, made a feint while in close proximity with her. In his drunken state, his nonchalance was obviously assumed. It took effort for her not to react instinctively to his suddenly swinging arm. Her only answer to his cocky grin was a small smile in return. Two of the warrior's buddies took charge of him and led him away with a promise that they would get him back to base.

Explain what happened to the murder-framing accomplice. Ellit encountered the peacekeepers while he was going home from work. Minh did not recognize him with his hair grown out and wearing a cap. It took effort for him not to turn and run at the sight of her. The last time he had seen her was when Vera stabbed Katya. It was Vera's plan to frame Minh. He could not understand Vera's crazy obsession with the small woman. He wasn't the smarter individual, but he knew enough that pursuing a vendetta was too risky. Afraid of the large bondswoman, he went along with Vera's plan. Subsequently, when everything came apart, he had been knocked unconscious. When he woke up next to Katya's body, he believed her to be dead and ran away. Hiding off base, he heard rumors and waited fearfully for the warriors to hunt him down. Despite the mean things he had done to Minh, he held no animosity toward bondswoman's med tech friend. He was glad that she had survived…

Taken for a drifter, he was gradually accepted into the community. To his amazement it was as if he had been forgotten. What he didn't know was that Katya had assumed he had been apprehended. Given Minh's hatred for Vera and the emotional ordeal she had undergone upon witnessing the near death of her friend, she had forgotten the bondsman existed. There were no other witnesses with knowledge of his involvement. Taylor, the overseer in charge of the warehouses that he worked for, concluded that he had run off and decided he was well rid of the troublesome slack about.

With this new start in life, he kept his head down, blending in as if another worker in the community. Employed in a leather shop, he was gaining a reputation as a hard worker. He looked forward to the time when the trinary, and Minh, left Strana Mechty.

Dragon Studios, Luthien

Pesht Military District, Draconis Combine

20 August 3051

Etohko Iizasa held her pose for the holo cameraman. His rig was more sophisticated than most. Optimized for still photography, the processors could record both holographs and simple photographs. Today's visual recording session was to provide stills for souvenir holos and posters.

She knew her physical appearance was marvelous and that was part of the reason she was not in the best of moods. Her morning martial art exercise session was less than satisfactory. Her trainer had refused to give her the workout she wanted for fear of causing bruising. Such blemishes were difficult cover up under the bright lights. Swelled up lips or puffy eyes could not be concealed at all. Only post-recording doctoring of the stills could have removed that.

Her dress was most provocative. The ankle length silk gown was purple with open seams from hem to hip. Almost sleeveless, the dress was tight over her figure with a closed collar around her neck. A gold comb adorned her gently teased tresses. With so much of her smooth legs displayed, she was careful in the postures as she followed direction.

The holographer sighed to himself. His model looked too pensive, hardly the "Darling of the DCMS" as she was known. A bit too moody, not the professional actress she was normally.

"Eto-cha-a-a-an," he drew out her last syllable in mock exasperation. Startled, Etohko looked back in surprise. In pique, the holographer recorded that expression. "You need to focus, Eto-chan."

"I'm sorry," Etohko bowed her head once in apology. "I-." She relaxed, stepping away from the screen backdrop.

"Do you need a moment?"

"Please, just five minutes," Etohko walked to a sofa, her legs kicking the front panel of her dress ahead of her.

"Of course, but don't-." _Don't sit down_, he finished silently as Etohko sat down on the sofa. Obviously conscious of the limitations of her dress, she arranged herself sideways and modestly drew the front fabric of the dress across her thighs. Careful not to touch her face and muss her makeup, she propped the side of her head against the back of the sofa.

The makeup and wardrobe attendants had been across the room. They were now scurrying toward Etohko. The holographer waved them back. Ignorant to what was happening with the actress the two women remained where they were with uncomfortable uncertainty.

They would have to reset her dress once she stood up again. The garment was so tight, it was not meant for normal usage. Normal usage would include such activities as sitting down. The close fit was meant to provide her fans with eye candy.

Etohko had been in the studio all morning. This was her third costume. The first was a variation of her shinobu-style gi that was her movie trademark. The costume was capped off with a simple head scarf that was tied to her protruding ponytail.

Her second wardrobe change was the office uniform for the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery. The short jacket and knee-length skirt complemented her trim figure. The attire had reminded her of her visit to the reconstituted infantry company just the previous day before.

The DCMS unit had been seriously mauled in the beginning campaigns against the clan invaders. Only a junior officer and barely a score of men survived their fighting retreat. The unit had helped buy the evacuation DropShips time with the cost of most of the officers, all of the senior enlisted, and the majority of the soldiers. In recognition of their valor, the company had not been disbanded but instead the veterans became a cadre for a renewed company.

Etohko had been present for the reactivation ceremony. Her attendance served to bring favorable attention to the valiant unit. Standing with the general's staff, her kimono lending elegance to her mien, she permitted the company to see her displayed pride in them. After the official proceedings, she remained with the company to engage in conversation.

A boy, still a teenager, had been promoted to go-cho. Grievously wounded in one eye, he wore a patch. On an older man, he would look rakish. Instead, it only served to remind Etohko of the cost of the war that had been declared against the Draconis Combine. The young man was shy as she spoke quietly with him. Her words helped convey the appreciation of the Dragon for his effort on all of their behalf. She could not miss the esteem for which his comrades held him. She could tell which men had been part of the company when it came back from battle. The original members had the same award ribbons on their chests. It was from these men that she saw their respect. The young man, so youthful, had earned his place among them through trial of fire and pain.

Of the new members of the company were experienced officers and enlisted. She remembered a dour faced gunso, recently assigned from previous duties as an instructor. Beneath his decorations for valor was the badge attesting that he had formerly been a Draconis Elite Strike Commando. Both the gunso and the go-cho reminded her of her own life when she was younger.

Numerous members of Etohko's family had military connections. They were either serving members of the armed forces, had prior service, or had acquaintances that were serving or retired. She remembered the fond stories that were told at the dinners when she was a child: the glories of combat and the adventure of seeing other planets. After dinner, she would be sent to bed, but she would always sneak back and listen to the adults. The stories were different, with less wonder and more remembrance and loss. Etohko came to learn that with glory came tragedy; that victors still lost something of themselves and their forces. The true cost was always in loss. There was no profit in warfare, not for the soldiers in the field.

She had come to understand that returning from conflict was a victory in itself. Battle was a life changing experience. Only few of the survivors of the company managed to escape any outward injury, but to call them untouched by their experience was grossly inaccurate. The recitation of their valor as told at the ceremony had obviously been edited. Having heard the after dinner stories, she could see the true cost. That is what Etohko saw in the eyes of the veterans and survivors of the company.

It had been all she could do not to cry for them during the visit.

Unlike a lot of famous entertainers, she was not temperamental. Once in a while, like now, she needed a moment to regain her poise. During these moments, she would block out everyone, virtually ignoring everything. He could see that she was unsettled when she first showed up for the shooting session. Like the rest of the world, entertainers had their own concerns and problems. Setting aside those concerns was part of the job. At least Eto-chan did not throw screaming fits or sulk. When she was on her top form, she was a joy to work with.

The thoughtfully pensive look on her face and her change in posture on the sofa caught his attention. She had drawn her legs up and wrapped one arm around them in a loose hug. She appeared vulnerable. Without thinking, he had his camera up and recording.

Snapping out of her reverie, she looked over at him.

"Oh! Is it time?" she asked.

"No, you still have time," he replied. "Just a candid shot. When you are ready, let us know." He let her return to her thoughts and he checked the recording in the camera.

_Amazing_, he thought. _With her guard down, she still looks fantastic. If I have to choose any of the pictures I took this morning, this is the best. She looked just like a real sweetheart, not just the sweetheart of the DCMS_.


End file.
